House Dems Advance Major Vote Against Trump Policy – Donald Spirals

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Under the cover of the endlessly belligerent behavior from President Donald Trump, the Trump administration is continuing to seek to reshape national policy to its liking, but House Democrats are fighting back. They’ve now passed legislation that if made law, would roll back a recent major hit the Trump team delivered to Obamacare. They had opened up opportunities for states to request waivers from the monumental health care law requirements, which advocates are concerned could open the door to issues like discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions, which has proven a key point.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) shared:

‘This legislation should not be necessary but unfortunately the Trump administration continues to take actions that undermine the health care of millions of Americans, including the more than 133 million people with pre-existing conditions.’

Only four House Republicans crossed the aisle to vote with the Democratic majority in favor of the legislation in question, termed the Protecting Americans with Preexisting Conditions Act of 2019.

The waivers that states can request under new guidance handed down last year include allowing Obamacare subsidies to be used for short-term insurance plans that are exempt from the health care law’s requirements. Although no states have yet done so, Republican-led jurisdictions across the United States have already proven their fondness for similar offers through means like obtaining waivers from national policy that allow them to impose work requirements for public health assistance.

The issue is one of many in which the Trump administration has been seeking to roll back health coverage protections. For instance, in a case similar to that of the short-term health plans, the Trump administration sought to open up opportunities for the implementation of so-called association health plans, which are also exempt from the demands of Obamacare. In late March, a federal judge ruled against that move, asserting the proposition to be an illegal attempt to subvert Obamacare through unforward means. The new Labor Department rule included provisions like allowing employees to band together solely for the purpose of a health plan, glossing over the original legal demand for the AHPs to cover already in-place associations.

Going forward, House Democrats have plans for a number of further legislative pushes against the Trump administration’s health care agenda. They intend to vote against the administration’s expansion of short-term plans and in support of outreach covering Obamacare enrollment, which has lagged under Trump as the administration has turned resources away from getting people covered. None of the bills stand much of a chance of getting anywhere in the Senate while it’s under the control of Trump shill and “Grim Reaper” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

The Trump administration is continuing to pursue their efforts to upend Obamacare without having any remotely comprehensive plan on the table to replace it and protect interests like the people with pre-existing conditions. They even are seeking to have a judge overturn the whole thing — again, without any alternative ready to go for the millions it protects. They’ve released plans in the past, but they’ve failed in Congress.

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