What We're Reading - July 2
Spread the word
|
|
Good morning, everyone! Before you leave town for the 4th of July this week, make sure to check out what we’re reading this morning…
What happens to the 30 million uninsured if Republicans push to replace Obamacare? “Mitch McConnell: Covering 30 million uninsured is `not the issue’” – “Mitch McConnell’s appearance today on Fox News Sunday was remarkably revealing — it showed as clearly as you could want that the Supreme Court decision is finally forcing Republicans to declare what, exactly, they would replace Obamacare with if they realize their goal of repealing it entirely. Pressed by Chris Wallace to say what he would do to insure the 30 million people who will get insurance under Obamacare, McConnell at first dodged the question, instead launching into a litany of complaints about the law. He repeated the debunked claim that it would cut $500 billion from Medicare. Asked the question again by Wallace, McConnell actually laughed, and said he’d ‘get to it in a minute,’ before claiming the best thing we can do for the health system overall is to get rid of the law and all of its ‘cuts’ to health providers. He labeled Obamacare a ‘monstrosity’ and vowed that there would not be a ‘2,700 page’ Republican reform bill. Asked a third time how Republicans would insure those 30 million people, McConnell said: ‘That is not the issue. The question is how you can go step by step to improve the American health care system.’ The most charitable reading of McConnell’s quote is that he meant that Republicans see no need to come up … with a single overarching reform plan that would cover those millions of uninsured, and instead will advocate a step-by-step approach.”
An increase in support for the Affordable Care Act. “Support for Obama healthcare law rises after ruling” – “(Reuters) - Voter support for President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul has increased following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling upholding it, although majorities still oppose it, a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Sunday showed. Among all registered voters, support for the law rose to 48 percent in the online survey conducted after Thursday's ruling, up from 43 percent before the court decision. Opposition slipped to 52 percent from 57 percent. The survey showed increased backing from Republicans and, crucially, the political independents whose support will be essential to winning the November 6 presidential election. Thirty-eight percent of independents supported the healthcare overhaul. That was up from 27 percent from a Reuters/Ipsos poll taken days before the justices' ruling. Opposition among independents was 62 percent, versus 73 percent earlier. ‘This is a win for Obama. This is his bill. There's not really any doubt in people's minds, that it belongs to him,’ said Julia Clark, vice president at Ipsos Public Affairs. ‘It's his baby. It's literally been labeled 'Obamacare' ... which maybe it works in his favor now that there's a little bit of a victory dance going on.’”
A law designed to shut down the only abortion clinic in Mississippi was temporarily blocked. “Mississippi Law Aimed at Abortion Clinic Is Blocked” – “A federal judge on Sunday night temporarily blocked the State of Mississippi from closing its last remaining abortion clinic, which was the target of a new law designed to limit abortions. Critics of the law said it would force women to drive hundreds of miles out of state to get an abortion, but it has the strong backing of Gov. Phil Bryant, who has publicly stated that he would like to see his state be ‘abortion-free.’ The law was scheduled to go into effect on Monday — almost certainly forcing the clinic, the Jackson Women’s Health Organization, to close — so supporters of the clinic asked the courts to intervene. Judge Daniel P. Jordan III of Federal District Court issued a ruling late Sunday that temporarily blocked the new law from taking effect. He scheduled a hearing on the matter for July 11. ‘Though the debate over abortion continues, there exists legal precedent the court must follow,’ Judge Jordan wrote. The injunction was hailed by supporters of abortion rights.”
