Trump and Ryan Celebrate; Obamacare Fate Is Now With the Senate
Trumpcare vote. Republican efforts to undo former President Barack Obama’s signature health care law that has provided health insurance for 20 million more Americans in our country will now head to the Senate. The House voted 217-213 to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act with a plan that would allow states to deny coverage for pre-existing conditions, including rape and C-sections. It would also roll back Medicaid expansion and allow states to apply for waivers to exempt insurance plans from covering benefits such as prenatal care and mental health coverage. Republicans who had opposed Trumpcare, including U.S. Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.) whose daughter had cancer, and U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), ended up voting for the bill.
Birth control. Contraception is one more thing that Republicans believe employers can require women to pay for out of their own pockets. Trump signed a “religious liberty” executive order that allows companies to opt out of including paying for birth control in health insurance on religious grounds. The order also calls to ease rules on churches getting involved in political campaigns. The order apparently did not lay the groundwork for government-sanctioned discrimination against the LGTBQ community.
Golf and more golf. Two Air Force One trips to Mar-a-Lago cost taxpayers $1.3 million. And that’s just the cost of the plane for two trips in March. Judicial Watch, which asked for the expenses associated with the trips, still has requests out for Secret Service protection and other expenses for Trump’s golf jaunts.
