GOP health plan is an outrage

The May 3 article by Thomas Kaplan and Robert Pear, “Influential Republican attacks latest health bill,” quotes House Speaker Paul Ryan saying “There are a few layers of protections for pre-existing conditions. What’s important is we want to have a situation where people can afford their health insurance.”

“A few layers” is the operative wording. If you have pre-existing conditions, you will be put in a high-risk pool or states can opt out altogether. Good luck with that. “Affordable” insurance means less coverage for medical treatment. And old folks will get to pay a “special” tax because they use too many medical services. Even the conservative American Medical Association is aghast by this plan.

Let’s go back to the days of emergency-room health care, the most expensive and least efficient medicine available. Let’s dump millions of people off health insurance, especially small children and senior citizens. Let’s make America great.

I am incensed by the smug, self-serving Congressional members pushing this bill of goods.

This story was originally published May 11, 2017 at 1:44 PM with the headline "GOP health plan is an outrage."