Trump/GOP Don't Think It's Important For You To Have Health Care

When rights are discussed, most Americans think of the political rights enshrined in the Constitution - the right to free speech, the right to demonstrate, the right to worship as you please (or not), and the right to vote.

Those are definitely important rights, and no democracy can survive without them. But there are also three basic human rights. And without them, the political rights are meaningless. They Are the right to adequate food, shelter, and health care.

Most developed nations recognize those human rights. They have a social capitalism that insures people are fed, housed, and get decent health care. The United States is an outlier.

In the United States, the two political parties don't agree on these basic human rights. While the Democrats recognize them and attempt to assure they are met, the Republicans do not. And with the Republicans having enough power to to block Democratic efforts, the United States is failing to extend those rights to all its citizens.

Perhaps the most egregious Republican action is their opposition to basic and decent health care for all citizens. This is not new. They have traditionally opposed the government helping citizens to get health insurance.

When President Johnson proposed Medicare (to provide health insurance for seniors) and Medicaid (to provide health insurance for the poor), the Republicans opposed both.

And when President Obama proposed the Affordable Care Act, the Republicans also opposed that (even though it fell short of covering all citizens). 

Although the Republicans have been unable to fully eliminate any of the programs, they have been able to block making them better and are continually trying to defund or reduce funding for them.

They continued this when they passed their misnamed "big beautiful bill". That bill gave the rich huge tax cuts, and partially paid for it with large cuts to Medicaid and subsidies for the ACA. The cuts to Medicaid will cause several million people to lose their health insurance. And by cutting the subsidies to ACA, the premiums for that insurance with rise substantially. With the new higher premiums, millions more will no longer be able to buy the insurance.

The Republicans knew this when that passed that bill. They just didn't care. For them, it was more important to give unneeded tax cuts to the rich than to protect health insurance for Americans who need it.

Why? It's simple. The Republicans don't think health care is a right that should be assured for all citizens. They consider it just a product to be sold to those who can afford it. And if you can't afford it, that's tough. They don't care.

All Americans deserve to have affordable health insurance, so they can access the health care they need. It's a basic human right. But it won't happen as long as the Republicans remain in power.