This may sound like ancient history but Tom DeLay was interviewed by Michel Martin on NPR about the failure of TRyancare. His attitude was that the Republicans should just have repealed ACA and not put forth a replacement. He said health care is a responsibility not a right. Really? This is the same Tom DeLay who strong-armed Medicare Part D through the House using Republican votes. The whole sorry story is here economix.blogs.nytimes.com/… from Nov. 19, 2013. Essentially, the Republicans took the lead on Part D so that Medicare COULD NOT negotiate prices and thus lower drug company profits. And the cost of Part D is enormous: in 2013 it was estimated to cost well over $800 billion over 10 years with no offsetting income or taxes. It’s the largest unfunded expansion of the social safety net in history. Remember, the ACA pays for itself.
In DeLay’s book it’s OK to give drug benefits to seniors and pay for it with deficits. Where is the responsibility there, either on the part of Congress or seniors? But it’s not OK to expand Medicaid or give subsidies to the middle class to buy insurance even if those benefits are paid for by tax increases and negotiated hospital reimbursement decreases. Breathtaking.