It's interesting that the reason they had to pull their bill was that the
Freedom Caucus, which is the far right wing of the Republican Party, thought
that they hadn't cut enough from it. They wanted to cut even more health
care services. I'm not sure about your figure of 90 million people. The
figure that I kept reading was 26 million people would have lost health care
within the next ten years. But if we're talking just about Medicaid, I
imagine that some states would be somewhat better able to cover the short
fall than others. Undoubtedly, however, a lot of people would have lost a
lot of services.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Bonnie L.
Sherrell
Sent: Saturday, March 25, 2017 6:19 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] He promised tax cuts
Oh, yes, Donald J. Trump promised tax cuts, just as he implied he would be
closing tax loopholes that allow those who are wealthy to avoid paying their
fair share of taxes.
He might have intended to close those tax loopholes, but not before he
rammed through his first tax cut, which one would have to earn more than
$200,000.00 per year to take advantage of it. Give a new loophole now, and
when he takes away others later, his fellow one-percenters aren't likely to
grouch as much, I suppose.
What frosts me most, however, that he proposed to counter the revenues lost
by giving those who don't need it this tax cut by cutting Medicaid spending
so much that it is estimated ninety million people nationwide will lose
Medicaid-funded services.
What services are we speaking about?
Home care services.
Home-health services.
Necessary consumable items such as disposable underwear and other
incontinence aids, catheter supplies and bags, dialysate and other materials
used by dialysis patients, wound care supplies, and countless other things
used everyday by caregivers, nurses, nurses aids, and even primary care
providers.
Hospital beds, Hoyer lifts, home commodes and bath and transfer chairs,
wheelchairs.
Physical therapy, speech therapy after strokes and facial injuries,
occupational therapy, blood transfusions....
Need I go on?
I've been working as a caregiver for the last ten years, and I work hard,
with ten-plus hours a day during my work week. My job is largely paid for
by Medicaid funds, and one client who receives a fair amount in Social
Security pays almost a third of her benefits per month to help defray her
caregiving costs. Without periodic blood transfusions--paid for by
Medicaid--and home health nursing services she would probably have been dead
long ago. This woman worked hard until she was in her mid-sixties, much of
it providing safe homes for adolescent girls who'd been abused, neglected,
raped, and otherwise traumatized in their birth homes. If anyone deserves
support now that she is aging and is largely bed-bound, it's this lady. But
had the Republican and Trump-sponsored healthcare act passed, she'd have
ended up in a nursing home costing far more money a month and receiving most
likely insufficient care.
Imagine--secretively pushing through a healthcare act loaded with a Trojan
Horse of a tax cut for those who have no need for either said tax cut or the
benefits of the healthcare act!
Why is this former Republican totally disgusted with this Trump
administration and Paul Ryan's House of Representatives and Mitch
McConnell's Senate?
Guess!
Bonnie L. Sherrell
Teacher at Large
"Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very
wise cannot see all ends." LOTR
"Don't go where I can't follow."
We gave the Goblin King control of our nation!
