Letters to the editor for Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017

GOP health care bill is a disgrace

Senator Heller should be ashamed for supporting the Cassidy/Graham health care bill — the last-ditch effort to overturn the Affordable Care Act. This version is even worse than the last ill-fated previous attempts by the right wingers in Congress. It claims to “turn over heath care authority to the states.” What is not said is that the federal funding for the ACA subsidies and Medicaid expansion under the ACA going to the states would be cut every year, going to zero in 10 years. Funding for Planned Parenthood would be zeroed out for one year, but then would be restored at some unstated level. Which will only enrage both those wanting to stop all funds to Planned Parenthood as well as those wanting to continue funding.

The details of insurance coverages and costs would be left to each state’s politicians, thus eliminating any nationwide consistency in health care.

All-in-all, this Republican health non-care bill is even worse than the earlier versions this year. Why were they trying to ram this through by Sept. 30? Because after that the normal Senate rules would apply requiring a 60-vote majority to pass further health care legislation. So, the slim majority wanted to rush this half-baked bill with virtually no analysis of its effects just to appease its “base,” which was composed of no more than 30 percent of all the voters. Shame!

For more facts, see: www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/politics/cassidy-graham-explainer.

Jon Nowlin

Carson City