9 Trump promises the GOP's 'Better Care' act breaks
The president has made a lot of health-care promises. Senate Republicans want to break them all.
Senate Republicans on Thursday released their 142-page ObamaCare replacement, optimistically titled the "Better Care Reconciliation Act," after the party's leadership faced criticism for writing the document entirely behind closed doors. While President Trump has quietly implored Republican lawmakers to make their approach to health care less "mean," and to give the bill "more heart," the White House is apparently supportive of "Better Care," much as the administration got behind the House's narrowly passed American Health Care Act.
"It's going to be very good," Trump promised Thursday. "A little negotiation, but it's going to be great,"
Critics of the Senate's plan are already fiercely taking issue with the president's "very good" claim. And one more thing is certain: Trump's supporters will certainly feel surprised. After all, many of the promises Trump made on the campaign trail and in his early days in office are directly contradicted by the Senate's plan. Let's take a brief tour.
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1. The plan will lower deductibles.
Then:
Now:
2. The plan will preserve Medicaid.
Then:
Now:
3. The plan will totally repeal ObamaCare.
Then:
Now:
4. The plan will guarantee "insurance for everybody."
Then:
Now:
5. The plan will be great for women.
Then:
"Nobody is going to be better on women’s health issues than Donald Trump," Trump promised at an August 2015 campaign rally.
Now:
6. This is "a plan with heart."
Then:
Now:
7. The plan will provide "much less expensive and much better" care.
Then:
Now:
8. The plan will take care of Americans with pre-existing conditions.
Then:
Now:
9. Republicans will "come together and save the day."
Then:
Now:
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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