New political science lecturer, Professor Scott Lemieux, published an op-ed on September 19th in the LA Times called: Repeal and replace is back, and scarier than ever.
In this article he discusses the latest threat to the Affordable Care Act. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) proposed replacing Medicaid expansion and replace it with block grants. “When a Republican proposes a 'block grant' this almost always means a big spending cut...it would reduce federal healthcare spending by about $400 billion in less than a decade.”
He explains that this bill may succeed because it puts the responsibility on the states. “Republicans are claiming that many people lack access to affordable healthcare because federal politicians haven’t been creative enough, and allowing the states to experiment will solve the problem.”
Lemieux states that this is simply "abject nonsense."
Cassidy-Graham would destroy any progress the ACA made in providing healthcare to tens of millions of people. Lemieux explains that it is simply not possible for States to provide more coverage with less money and the block grants are not generous enough. He beautifully spells this out by saying, "States are no more likely to find a way to provide effective coverage to more people with less money and fewer rules than they are to discover a formula to convert urine into fine Cabernet Sauvignon."
Lastly, he strongly recommends that if you want to defend yourself from this bill you should call your local representative.