Sen. Elizabeth Warren says Republicans will use “blood money” from lost and broken American lives to pay for their overhaul of former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s “discussion draft” of the Republican Party’s latest health care bill enraged Ms. Warren on Thursday. The Massachusetts senator took to her social media accounts to accuse “cruel” Republicans of enriching those “who make a lot of money” by shortchanging “30 million kids who get their health care through Medicaid.”
“I’ve read the Republican ‘health care’ bill. This is blood money. They’re paying for tax cuts with American lives,” the senator tweeted to 2.5 million followers with a video attached.
“The Republicans in the Senate have decided that bill wasn’t cruel enough. So they put in deeper cuts for Medicaid. Take a minute to think about what that means,” she said. “For nearly two out of three seniors in nursing homes who rely on Medicaid to pay the nursing home bills? They’re going to face cuts. Cuts. Cuts. Cuts.”
Ms. Warren did not mention that her analysis comes before the Congressional Budget Office has had a chance to score the bill. The process is scheduled to take place next week.
Republicans argue that the Senate bill does not cut Medicaid to anyone in the near future, but instead slows the rate of growth until 2021.
Billions of dollars in “stabilization” funding is provided to poor Americans to make the transition to a more market-based approach.
“At first glance, I have serious concerns about the bill’s impact on the Nevadans who depend on Medicaid,” said Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada, The Washington Times reported. “I will read it, share it with Gov. [Brian] Sandoval and continue to listen to Nevadans to determine the bill’s impact on our state.”
Mr. McConnell said he regretted that “Democratic friends made clear early on that they did not want to work with us in a serious, bipartisan way to address the Obamacare status quo,” but that Republicans would complete the job anyway.
I’ve read the Republican “health care” bill. This is blood money. They’re paying for tax cuts with American lives. pic.twitter.com/298DLguNiM
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) June 22, 2017
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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