The anticipated cancellation of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) by the newly elected GOP House and Senate would result in the loss of health coverage for over 18 million Americans, according to a study by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). President-elect Trump, who was told to stop "whining" by outgoing Vice-President Joe Biden, has promised to "repeal" Obamacare and to "replace" it the same day. As it stands now, GOP Congressional leaders in both houses of Congress have promised to repeal Obamacare, but have not introduced any sort of plan with which to replace Obama Care.
Trump's promises
Although Donald Trump has promised to replace Obamacare immediately upon its repeal, he has not offered any sort of a plan, or any details outlining exactly what the parameters and limitations of his new program would be. Additionally, Trump has not spoken to the issue of "pre-existing" illnesses and if and how Americans would qualify for coverage despite pre-existing illnesses.
Before Obama Care
Before the implementation of Obamacare, millions of Americans were denied health care because of their pre-existing illnesses. Millions of people died because they succumbed to the illnesses for which they received no medical care. Other people had "partial" health care that covered everything except their preexisting illnesses.
When their pre-existing illnesses flared up, these people got sicker and sicker and eventually died.
Another group of Americans were among the "working poor." These people were usually very hard working, but had one, two, or sometimes even three "part-time" jobs, none of which provided any sort of health care. Obamacare provided coverage for these Americans so that despite their lives of poverty, they had medical care and could provide for the medical needs of themselves and their families.
The endless "death spiral"
GOP Congresswoman Susan Collins, (Maine), warned her Congressional Republican colleagues that repealing Obamacare without providing an immediate replacement would result in the creation of a "death spiral" for millions of Americans who would suddenly find themselves without health coverage. Collins noted that with the looming prospect of over 32 million Americans finding themselves in that death spiral, that there is a "growing consensus," even among Republican members of Congress, that Obamacare must be replaced the same day that it is repealed.
To date, there has been no indication of any upcoming meetings between Trump and Congressional leaders to come up with a workable plan for meeting these needs.
Trump canceled plans to visit African-American Museum
Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump reneged on his promise to attend the African-American Museum at the Smithsonian Institution on Martin Luther King Day. Trump's cancellation came after Congressman John Lewis, (D, Ga.), stated that he would not be attending Trump's inauguration because he does not consider Trump to be a "legitimate President." Trump went on a Twitter tirade and advised Lewis to do something about the poverty and crime in his Congressional District. He also accused Lewis of being "all talk." Trump's tirade came over the Martin Luther King weekend and has set up a barrier of divisiveness between himself and the African-American community that just might turn out to be insurmountable.
In the meantime, America just celebrated the birthday of the most notable and iconic civil rights leader in American history, the man who called upon all Americans to judge Americans by the "content of their character," not by the color of their skin. And America is about to inaugurate a president with the lowest approval ratings of any incoming president in American history.
