Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, criticized Senate Republicans’ newly released healthcare bill and said the legislation “lacks heart” and would have a “devastating impact” on elderly Americans.
“Fundamentally, this bill lacks heart, and it sends a simple and clear message: if you’re young and healthy, you’ll be fine. If you’re poorer, older, or sicker? Well, you’re screwed,” Hirono said during the weekly Democratic address, released Friday.
Senate Republicans released their plan to repeal and replace parts of Obamacare on Thursday, but the process by which they drafted the legislation came under fire from some Republican and Democratic senators alike who said the proposal was written in secret and away from the public eye.
“For the past few months, 13 Republican male senators have been sequestered away somewhere, literally plotting in secret, to come up with a bill which deprives millions of people across this country from accessing essential health care,” Hirono said.
Following the bill’s release Thursday, the Hawaii Democrat said it “isn’t surprising that they chose to keep it hidden” from the public.
“It’s even worse than we thought,” she said.
The draft bill retains some of the 2010 healthcare law’s more popular provisions, and repeals the individual and employer mandates. It also phases out the Medicaid expansion by 2024.
Senate Democrats swiftly came out in opposition to the legislation, which Hirono said provides the rich with a “huge tax cut” and would have a “devastating impact on our seniors” because of its “draconian cuts” to Medicaid.
Hirono said Democrats plan to “fight Trumpcare tooth and nail,” and are pushing for universal healthcare.
But the Hawaii senator said she and fellow Democrats need support from the grassroots opposing the Senate GOP’s plan.
“Millions of people are mobilizing across the country against this mean, ugly bill because healthcare is personal,” the Hawaii Democrat said. “I’m encouraged that so many people have been calling and making their voices heard. Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump can try to jam this bill down our throats, but we aren’t going to let them succeed, and they will be held accountable.”
