Monday, May 01, 2017

Start over, MacArthur



Decry his poor policymaking and gaslighting, but give Rep. Tom MacArthur this: he painstakingly crafted an intraparty compromise that got the Freedom Caucus behind the American Health Care Act. The MacArthur amendment allows states to re-instate medical underwriting -- charging people different rates for health insurance based on the medical history -- if they either establish a high risk pool or create a reinsurance program. It also allows states to alter the Essential Health Benefits that the ACA mandates to be covered by all qualified health plans.

After a week of crying loudly for a vote on the bill and declaring Obamacare dead, Trump dismissed that delicate compromise  in a few seconds today in an interview with Bloomberg News.
President Donald Trump said Monday the Republican health-care bill being negotiated in Congress ultimately will protect Americans with pre-existing conditions as well as Obamacare does.

“I want it to be good for sick people. It’s not in its final form right now," he said during an Oval Office interview Monday with Bloomberg News. "It will be every bit as good on pre-existing conditions as Obamacare.". 
"Trump just sent House GOP back to the drawing board," Greg Sargent of the Washington Post declared (though it appears, in morning light, that everyone is going to just ignore this).  This led to a thought: start over, MacArthur. Which, as it turns out, is a rhythmic rhyme with Roll Over, Beethoven. Which happenstance calls for song. Please sing along if you know that rollicking tune:

Start Over MacArthur 

I got some verbal diarrhea, gonna spout it to an outlet today:
yeah it's a jumpin discomfort, I've gotta a bombshell today:
Start over MacArthur,
write a new AHCA.

You know my temperature rising, I'm getting a little confused:
I'm promising everything and getting roundly abused,
Start over MacArthur, your compromise is recused

If you've got pre-existing...
We've gotta cover,
Now who's this goof who
papered that over?
Cover everyone but
spend no money --
You can't do that? --
That's...kinda funny...

Start over, MacArthur,
square this circle today.

We gotta wriggle like a broom and
dance like a spinning top.
We got amendments flying,
all kinds of complicated crahp.
Long as we keep trying, this music will never stop.

Start over, MacArthur!
Star over, MacArthur!
Start over, MacArthur!
Star over, MacArthur!
Start over, MacArthur! --
Write a new AHCA....


No comments:

Post a Comment