Nancy Altman, President of Social Security Works
When people talk about a wolf in sheep’s clothing, they generally mean something that appears benign on the surface hiding something sinister underneath. In the case of Trumpcare, the clothing — repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — is no sheep. It itself is a frighteningly destructive wolf. But it is hiding an even more destructive wolf.
The clothing of repealing and replacing the ACA will unquestionably put affordable health care out of the reach of millions of Americans. If Trump and his Congressional cronies succeed in destroying the ACA, they will cause 32 million Americans to lose their health care. For people who still have health insurance coverage, Trumpcare will make it much less adequate and much more expensive.
If the GOP succeeds in repealing the ACA, it will be a giant step backward, returning us to the world of a decade ago. But that clothing is hiding the worst part of Trumpcare.
The hidden part of Trumpcare would return us to the world of over a half century ago, before Medicaid, when almost all seniors and low-income Americans found themselves constantly on the edge, one illness away from bankruptcy — or worse, unable to get care at all.