Contemplating GOP Health Plan Politics: Can The Senate’s Panel Of White Men Come To The Rescue?; Who Voted How And Said What?
Editorial writers take on the optics involved as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) taps a group of Republican senators to craft a repeal-and-replace package, and handicap the reasons behind some representatives' votes in the House, if they will be held accountable and what could happen next.
Los Angeles Times:
Senate Republicans Couldn't Bother To Find A Single Woman To Help Overhaul Health Care
I know there aren’t that many women in the U.S. Senate. Just 21 of the 100 U.S. senators are female, and probably some of them had other plans. But still, couldn’t Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) find one woman to join the 13 men on his Obamacare overhaul posse? Just one? True, most of the women in the Senate are Democrats and would probably be annoying about pap smears, mammograms and Planned Parenthood. They might also point out that the Republican’s plan to replace the Affordable Care Act will invariably affect women. Women have a higher rate of poverty than men. (Mariel Garza, 5/9)
Roll Call:
The (White) Boys’ Club That’s Taking On Health Care
Is there an Obamacare provision for self-inflicted wounds? If so, Senate Republicans should file a claim pronto before they repeal and replace the offending legislation. It’s hard to understand how the GOP leadership could run head-first into such an avoidable misstep. They appointed 13 members to the Senate health care working group last week, either not noticing or not caring that all 13 of those senators are white men. (Patricia Murphy, 5/10)
The Washington Post:
Will Republican Senators Pass The GOP Health-Care Bill? Here’s What They’re Saying So Far.
When House Republicans passed the American Health Care Act on May 4, President Trump bullishly predicted that the bill would pass the Senate and arrive at his desk to be signed into law — though the timeline for the bill's passage is unclear. “We're going to get this passed through the Senate,” he said, surrounded by beaming GOP congressmen. “I feel so confident.” (Peter W. Stevenson, 5/9)
Chicago Tribune:
I Lived A Good Life, But I Had Cancer
Coongressman Mo Brooks, R-Ala., of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, recently implied that "people who lead good lives" do not have pre-existing conditions. I lived a very good life by most standards. I never drank. I never smoked. I exercised. Yet at age 35, while pregnant with my third child, I was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer. It was an aggressive cancer, and treatment could not be delayed. Chemotherapy was started while I was pregnant. After my baby was born, I had both my breasts surgically removed, followed by surgery to remove my ovaries. Genetic testing showed I carried a mutation (BRCA), which increases my risk of breast, ovarian and other cancers. Born with this mutation, I have a 50 percent chance of passing it to my children — through no fault of mine or theirs. (Sarah Nadeem, 5/9)
Cleveland Plain Dealer:
U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce Takes A Stand On GOP Health Care Bill
Joyce's stated reasons were sound, grounded in concern about the well-being of Ohioans. As he wrote on Twitter, "The idea that premiums could potentially skyrocket for people with pre-existing conditions and increase three to five times for people nearing retirement is something I find unacceptable." Joyce, of Geauga County's Bainbridge Township in Geauga County, also said he was troubled by the bill's threat to funding for opioid addiction treatment. (5/10)
Miami Herald:
Miami-Dade Voters Should Punish Congressmen Curbelo & Diaz-Balart For Their Trumpcare Votes
There’s no issue before Congress more crucial than healthcare. So why would two Miami-Dade lawmakers whose constituents heavily rely on the affordability of Obamacare for their health insurance vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act? Partisan politics, ambition, and deal-making maybe. (Fabiola Santiago, 5/9)
The Wall Street Journal:
The ‘Republicans Are Doomed’ Gambit
Barack Obama emerged from his short-lived political retirement on Sunday to call on Members of Congress to show the “political courage” to preserve ObamaCare. But wait. That plea doesn’t square with the deluge of recent stories predicting that Republicans have doomed their majority in 2018 by voting last week to repeal Obamacare. (5/9)
