Unless you live around a rock like Patrick Star, I'm guessing you have at least seen, in one way or another, that the House barely passed the Trumpcare bill, a shit show disaster bill which is a steaming pile of garbage if you're a woman, person of color, poor person, or, basically, anyone who isn't a rich white man. What a surprise!
Here's an outline of what Trumpcare actually does:
1. Slashes Medicaid with reckless abandon: Cut $880 billion over 10 years to a program which provides healthcare to those who can't afford it (74 million poor, disabled and elderly Americans a year). That's a quarter of its budget, in case you were curious. What does that mean? 14 million people will lose insurance, and special education programs around the country will see cuts since they receive about $4 billion in Medicaid annually.
2. Demolishes insurance subsidies: It provides $300 billion less to people who do not get insurance from their employer and have to buy insurance on their own. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that, for example, a 60-year-old living in Phoenix who earns $40,000 a year will have to pay an additional $12,370 a year for insurance. Are you shitting me?
3. Eliminates the individual mandate: What this means is that individuals are no longer required to buy health insurance individually. This can lead to what experts call a "death spiral" - rates rise as insurance companies are forced to cover older and sicker people, which leads to younger and healthier people continuing to drop insurance. In a word: shitshow.
4. Have a pre-existing condition? Too damn bad: This plan does not guarantee coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, and does not stop insurance companies from surcharging people they DO choose to cover with pre-existing conditions. These pre-existing conditions include rape (oh yes, you read that right), acid reflux, c-section, etc. It gives insurance companies free reign to "punish" sick people for being sick.
5. Makes insurance less comprehensive: This eliminates the ACA mandate that insurers cover a list of essential services (birth control coverage, maternity care, cancer treatment, etc). So essentially, you're screwed if you're a woman with cancer.
6. Defunds Planned Parenthood: Don't even get me started. Defunding Planned Parenthood has been showed to cost both the government and the taxpayer billions annually. And, the abortion thing Republicans claim to be so upset about is only 3% of PP's services annually, and are NOT paid for by the taxpayer. PP provides services to primarily poor families and families of color.
Now that you know what this plan is trying to demolish and cut, let's talk. Do you care about women? Do you care about poor people? Do you care about people of color? Then you should be furious about this bill. This bill targets those groups of people - it is a thinly veiled attack on women's rights and the health and wellbeing of poor people and people of color. I am furious, I am screaming and bawling, and you should be too.
Even if you don't care about anyone but yourself, you should be furious about this bill. Because if those people lose coverage, your taxes will begin going to THEIR medical bills, and your healthcare premiums could rise. It could end up being far more expensive for you than you believed, even if you are such an awful person as to only care about yourself in this world. And what of your dependents? What if you end up with a pregnant daughter because your health insurance doesn't cover birth control? What if your loved one ends up with cancer, and you have to pay a ridiculous amount out of pocket for their treatment?
No one should ever have to decide between making ends meet and being healthy. Health is a fundamental human right, and should not be dependent on whether your parts dangle, the amount of money you make, or the color of your skin. It should not be dependent on anything but the fact that you are sick, and you need to be well.
If you want to get caught up in the feels, and hear someone much funnier (and less angry) explain this concept, here is Jimmy Kimmel talking about his experience, and why he hates Trumpcare. And his baby is adorable.