Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Graham-Cassidy: Not The Only Weapon The GOP's Using To Destroy Your Healthcare

By Baxter

The Republicans never give up trying to ruin Americans' lives, do they? Graham-Cassidy may be marching along — mostly in the dark and behind closed doors — but thank goodness there are people like Jimmy Kimmel around to reach people who might otherwise tune us dedicated Democratic Party activists out.

Meanwhile, the Trumpsters and the GOP are slashing Obamacare's marketing budget to the bone, hoping people won't notice that, either. The cuts are impeding the government's ability to remind people that they need to sign up for healthcare coverage for 2018 this November (see above). So those of us who care if our fellow Americans get sick or die from lack of coverage are helping to spread the word.

But you know what else Republicans are cutting? Funds for healthcare navigators. And that goes beyond Open Enrollment.

"In addition to helping people sign up," NPR reports, "navigators often assist them throughout the year as their income or job status changes....Navigators can also be instrumental in helping clients save money on out-of-pocket costs, because the federal health law offers cost-sharing reduction subsidies for people earning up to 250 percent of the federal poverty level."

As Jimmy Kimmel said, healthcare is complicated. The services of navigators were built into Obamacare for a reason. But does the GOP care? Absolutely not. Which means it's literally a matter of life and death for the Democrats to get the House and Senate back next year. In the meantime, we cats HISS.

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