Here we go again. Another ill-conceived effort by Republicans to repeal Obamacare at any cost, without giving due consideration to the likely effects on the lives of the American people.

I can only think that Republicans have spent so much time demonizing Obama, and anything he accomplished during his presidency, that they are now blinded by their own hatred and can’t see past their obsessive desire to have a “We did it!” moment of victory.

I had been under the impression that their promise to the American people was not just to repeal Obamacare, but also to replace it with something better, a plan that would cover more people and make health care more affordable for all.

In fact, all of their proposals to date accomplish the repeal part of their promise, but don’t even come close to fulfilling the replace-with-something-better part. I have listened carefully to their talking points and find them woefully inconsistent with the facts.

Most analyses predict that their plans would insure fewer people, that premiums would rise for many and that health care will be less affordable because there will be less assistance available to help pay for premiums and health care costs.

What we need now is not to impulsively pass an 11th-hour, last-ditch, unvetted effort at repeal, but rather to back up a step, stabilize our current system and have a long-overdue national conversation about what our national health policy should be – what are our goals and priorities, what system of care would best meet those goals and how much are we willing to invest to meet those goals.

Doug Zlatin

Falmouth


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