The Graham-Cassidy bill would turn federal funding for a law Republicans loathe into block grants to states, realizing a long-held goal of the party.
Graham-Cassidy is 100 times more draconian than RyanCare and McConnellCare. Nothing short of legalized coup of Health Care.
California and New York will receive substantially less money even though they are the number 1 and 3 contributors to America’s GDP. And their populations are also rank number 1 and 3. Is it a coincidence that they’re Democrat states or Republican and Trump payback?
“This is by far the most radical of any of the Republican health care bills that have been debated this year. And the reason for that is that this would be the biggest devolution of federal money and responsibility to the states for anything, ever.”, Larry Levitt, a senior vice president with the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation.
It dismantles the Medicaid expansion and the system of subsidies to help people afford insurance.
It gives the states the right to waive many of the consumer protections under President Obama’s landmark health law.
Turn over more than $1 trillion that would have been spent on the law known as Obamacare over the next seven years to states as “block grants” with very few strings attached
Removes the guaranteed safety net that has insured the country’s poorest citizens for more than half a century.
Winners and Losers
Texas would receive an additional $35 billion by 2026
California would get $78 billion less through 2026
New York would get $45 billion less through 2026
Mississippi would reap an extra $6 billion through 2026
MONEY took a closer look at their words and their funding.
These 13 Senators represent their 10 individual states, donors and themselves. Once you acknowledge that, the truth will set you free!
I’ve added 2016 GDP and Population data for context and perspective . Cobbled together their reported Net Worth for fun.
“13 Men, and No Women, Are Writing New G.O.P. Health Bill in Senate”. A bastion of old white men. No hearings, no debate, no experts unless you include lobbyists.
Do they represent you or your state?
Summary
13 senators representing 10 states. Only 3 of these states are in the top 20 states in terms of GDP; Texas, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
The population of the 10 states is 80,341,428 or 24.86% of the 323,127,513 Americans in 2016
The GDP of the 10 states is only 23.64%
Who’s missing from the top 20? In order of GDP: California, New York, Florida, Illinois, Ohio, New Jersey, Georgia, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Virginia, Michigan, Washington, Maryland, Indiana, Minnesota, Tennessee, Colorado and Wisconsin
The remaining top 17 states account for 57.54% of America’s GDP
1. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Biggest donors:
Louisville, Ky.-based Kindred Healthcare, a health care services company, was the third-largest contributor to McConnell’s campaign committee from 2011 to 2016, donating $104,650.
Health insurer Humana was number 4, with $103,300 in donations.
Financial firm Blackstone Group came in first with $217,700 in donations.
GDP: 1.07% ~ ranked 28th
Population: 4,436,974 ~ ranked 26th
Net Worth: estimated $22,164,529 in 2014
Human resource firm OC Tanner was Hatch’s campaign committee’s top donor from 2011 to 2016, with $81,010 in contributions.
BlueCross BlueShield came third, with $68,500
Cancer Treatment Centers of America came rounded out the top five with $65,000.
GDP: 0.85% ~ ranked 31st
Population: 3,051,217 ~ ranked 31st
Net Worth: estimated $4,959,519 in 2014
3. Senate HELP Committee Chair Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
Biggest donors:
BlueCross BlueShield was the second-biggest donor to Alexander’s campaign committee from 2011 to 2016, with $36,250 in contributions
International Paper’s $48,950.
Franklin Tennessee-based Community Health Systems, a hospital operator, is the fourth-biggest donor with $28,850 in donations.
GDP: 1.78% ~ ranked 18th
Population: 6,651,194 ~ ranked 16th
Net Worth: estimated $13,221,019 in 2014
4. Sen Mike Enzi (R-WY)
Biggest donors:
DaVita HealthCare Partners is Enzi’s campaign committee’s top donor from 2011 to 2016 and the only health care name in the top five, with $27,000 in contributions.
Peabody Energy comes in second, with $21,650
Comcast Corp in third with $19,200.
GDP: 0.21% ~ ranked 49th
Population: 585,501 ~ ranked 50th
Net Worth: estimated $1,009,029 in 2014
5. Sen. John Thune (R-SD)
Biggest donors:
At number three and $40,246, Sanford Health is the only healthcare name among the top five donors to Thune’s campaign committee;
Nextera Energy comes in first with $52,000
Blackstone Group is next with $50,097.
GDP: 0.26% ~ ranked 47th
Population: 865,454 ~ ranked 46th
Net Worth: estimated $417,512 in 2014
6. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT)
Biggest donors:
Conservative group Club for Growth tops the list of Lee’s committee donors from 2011 to 2016, with $360,732 in donations
the Senate Conservatives Fund comes next with $169,907
Kirkham Motorsports comes third with $111,200.
** for GDP and Population, see Orrin Hatch’s stats
Net Worth: estimated $210,503 in 2014
7. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)
Biggest donors:
Cruz doesn’t have any health care names among his campaign committee’s top five donors from 2011 to 2016
the conservative Club for Growth is first with $707, 607
the Senate Conservatives Fund second with $315,991
Woodforest Financial Group third with $170,350
GDP: 8.76% ~ ranked 2nd
Population: 27,862,596 ~ ranked 2nd
Net Worth: estimated $3,013,518 in 2014
8. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR)
Biggest donors:
Cotton’s biggest donor is also Club for Growth with $457,924 in donations from 2013 to 2016.
New York City-based hedge fund Elliot Management was the second-largest contributor, donating $137,900.
The Stephens Group, a private investment firm headquartered in Little Rock, AR, was number 3 with $122,100 in donations.
GDP: 1.64% ~ ranked 21st
Population: 6,931,071 ~ ranked 14th
Net Worth: estimated $418,511 in 2014
9. Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO)
Biggest donors:
Club for Growth is Gardner’s largest contributor, with $97,552 in donations from 2013 to 2016.
His fourth largest contributor was Blue Cross/Blue Shield, with $33,000
United Health also contributed $25,500
GDP: 1.75% ~ ranked 19th
Population: 5,540,545 ~ ranked 21st
Net Worth: estimated $209,509 in 2014
10. Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY)
Biggest donors:
Richie’s Specialty Pharmacy, one of Texas’ leading pharmaceutical providers, is Barrasso’s biggest contributor from 2011 to 2016, with $44,800 in donations
Second was Murray Energy, the largest coal mining company in America, with $41,781 in donations.
The third-largest donor was New York City-based private equity firm Apollo Global Management, with $38,850 in donations.
** for GDP and Population, see Mike Enzi’s stats
Net Worth: estimated $5,222,008 in 2014
11. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)
Biggest donors:
Cornyn’s largest contribution has been through the Votesane PAC, with donations of $63,250 from 2011 to 2016.
His second largest donor was from multinational oil and gas corporation Exxon Mobil, totaling $60,600
Third was Mednax Inc., a medical solutions group and one of the nation’s leading providers of health services, with donations of $57,450.
** for GDP and Population, see Ted Cruz’s stats
12. Sen. Robert Portman (R-OH)
Biggest donors:
Portman’s largest campaign contributions from 2011 to 2016 came from the Votesane PAC, totaling $303,000 in donations.
Goldman Sachs, the large multinational finance company based in New York City, were his second largest donors, with $199,100.
His third largest contributor during this period was from conglomerate General Electric, with $157,900 in donations.
GDP: 3.39% ~ ranked 7th
Population: 11,614,373 ~ ranked 7th
Net Worth: *** estimated $14.5M as of 2014
13. Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA)
Biggest donors:
Toomey’s largest donor is also Club for Growth, which contributed a total of $418,416 between 2011 and 2016.
Second was the Rothman Institute, the internationally recognized orthopedic care center, which donated $101,300.
GDP: 3.93% ~ ranked 6th
Population: 12,802,503 ~ ranked 5th
Net Worth: estimated $3,342,529 in 2014
And the final Kick in the Teeth
Sources:
List of U.S. states by GDP, Wikipedia
List of U.S. states and territories by population, Wikipedia
Additional Reading
The Not-So-Secret Truth About the Senate GOP’s Secret Health Care Bill, HuffPost - June 19, 2017
Senate Republicans criticize own party’s healthcare process, The Hill - June 20, 2017
Cutting $616 billion from Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, Mic
Healthcare lobbyists prepare for frenzy, The Hill - Jan 11, 2017
Conservative groups keep lobbying against GOP’s health-care bill, Washington Post - Mar 22, 2017
Drug companies flood Congress with lobbyists, Axios - Apr. 21, 2017
Paul Ryan Fundraised With Health Insurance Lobbying Firm Just Before His PowerPoint, The Intercept - Mar. 10, 2017
OpenSecrets: Lobbying Database - 2016 Health Lobbying
Senators Net Worth 2014, OpenSecrets
List of current members of the United States Congress by wealth, Wikipedia
Tools
InsideGov | Government Data Visualized
OpenSecrets.org - Center for Responsible Government
#StayWoke
Resist TakeAction against #TrumpCare #RepublicanCare #ForProfitHealthCare
How Senate Republicans Plan to Dismantle Obamacare
There are NO “Compassionate Conservatives”. #GOPlies
Employer mandate - REPEAL
OBAMACARE Requires larger companies to provide affordable insurance to their employees, or face financial penalties.
SENATE BILL Eliminates the penalties.
Taxes created under the Affordable Care Act - REPEAL
OBAMACARE Imposed new taxes to help pay for coverage expansion. They include taxes on investment income, wages above $200,000, medical devices, prescription drugs and indoor tanning.
SENATE BILL Permanently eliminates most of the taxes. A tax on high cost employer health plans, established under Obamacare, but yet to kick in, would be imposed beginning in 2026.
Subsidies for out-of-pocket costs - REPEAL
OBAMACARE Provides subsidies to help people with lower incomes pay for out-of-pocket costs like deductibles and co-payments.
SENATE BILL Preserves the subsidies through 2019, then eliminates them altogether. This means many low-income people would face high deductibles.
Essential health benefits - CHANGE
OBAMACARE Requires all insurers to offer 10 categories of essential health benefits, like maternity treatment and hospital care.
SENATE BILL Preserves this rule, but states could apply to waive the standards. This means that some types of care, like maternity benefits, prescription drugs or addiction treatment, might not be covered in states that waive the rule.
Read the entire article by Haeyoun Park and Margot Sanger-Katz
