Last Friday, Vice President Mike Pence spoke to the National Governors Association, and in his speech he assured them that the Senate healthcare bill would be good for their states and wouldn’t cut Medicaid in the least. That, however, turns out to be a blatant lie.
Pence was so pleased with his fabrication regarding the Trumpcare legislation that his office even sent out this tweet:
Let me be clear: The Senate health-care bill strengthens and secures Medicaid for the neediest in our society. #BetterCare pic.twitter.com/rThIZtB9zi
— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) July 14, 2017
According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the GOP healthcare bill would cut federal Medicaid spending by $772 billion over the next nine years. That’s a 26 percent decrease in funds. Should Trumpcare become the law of the land, it would kick nearly 15 million people off Medicaid by 2026.
Some Republican governors were less than impressed with Pence’s speech, and Ohio’s John Kasich let loose with his criticism of the Veep:
Wow. GOP gov Kasich's office says @VP Pence is lying about his state's Medicaid expansion. It's an ugly lie, too:https://t.co/lB1ENYcjXx pic.twitter.com/rVT5M9Nv4Q
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) July 15, 2017
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson also wasn’t ready to jump on-board the Trumpcare train, saying that the long-term effects of such massive cuts to Medicaid are what have so many states worried:
“It is a huge challenge for us in terms of communicating what the future is going to be like to our health care providers. That is the challenge for governors — we’re on the front lines here. … It’s the long-term that people want to know about.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had planned to hold a vote on the healthcare bill this week, but that has been delayed while Arizona Senator John McCain recovers from eye surgery. With each day, it seems new opposition rises to challenge the Trumpcare bill, which would add as many as 25 million to the ranks of the uninsured should it be enacted. A new CBO score is expected this week.
But as Pence and others in his party are proving, they cannot defend the bill with facts, so they’ve resorted to lying. Apparently Pence has now adopted the default stance of his boss, President Trump: When in doubt, just cover the truth with some bullshit.
Featured Image Via YouTube
