Former presidential candidate and Ohio Governor John Kasich said he has “deep concerns” about the new health care legislation that Senate Republicans made public Thursday, joining other GOP governors who aren’t thrilled about the Obamacare repeal bill.
“I have deep concerns with details in the U.S. Senate’s plan to fix America’s health care system and the resources needed to help our most vulnerable, including those who are dealing with drug addiction, mental illness and chronic health problems and have nowhere else to turn,” he said in a statement Thursday afternoon.
“Sustainable solutions to the many complex problems facing our health care system will never be solved with a one-party approach that’s developed behind closed doors, without public discussion and input,” the statement continued. “I’m encouraging senators to step back and take a good, hard look at this important issue – and to reach across the aisle in working toward solutions. That’s the only way to address the flaws of Obamacare that we can all agree need to be fixed.”
Kasich is part of a bipartisan group of governors who put out a joint statement last week that denounced the House GOP’s Obamacare repeal bill and urged Senate Democrats and Republicans to work together on their own plan.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker’s (R) office put out a similar statement Thursday, saying this first draft of the Senate legislation “falls short” when it comes to funding Medicaid and supporting Massachusetts residents facing opioid addiction.
“Since Washington has started debating reforms to the health care law, Governor Baker has been clear that any changes must preserve our ability to provide quality health care coverage in Massachusetts and allow flexibility to responsibly manage programs like Medicaid,” Baker communication director Lizzy Guyton said in a statement. “And the administration is concerned that upon a first review, this version falls short and will result in significant funding losses for our state.”
“Governor Baker will keep working with other governors, the Congressional delegation and federal officials to advocate for solutions that work for Massachusetts, including protecting our waiver to support behavioral health and fighting the opioid epidemic and funding for Planned Parenthood.”
Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, the other Republican governor who signed the letter to senators asking for a bipartisan approach to drafting a new health care plan, has yet to address the draft legislation.
After it passes, citizens will inevitably get their knickers in a justifiable twist with this thing as it turns into a disaster of death and bankruptcies for so many people while the rich order more caviar cakes and iced champagne double-cream shakes. The GOP architects of this thing will inevitably blame the Governors for failing to do the right thing with implementation and then wash their hands of it because their view of conservatism can’t fail; it can only be failed. Of course, Kasich, et alia, should cry wolf, but they did clearly vote for these awful legislators so what are they going to do about their “concerns”?
All Republicans with “deep concerns” form a line…
Apologies to the Pythons
Why is this news? It seems that this is part of the Usual GOP Dance: some subset of legislators from purplish states express ‘concern’ as some sort of innoculative ritual that they will point to later as some indication of their Moderate Cred, but as Josh has pointed out frequently, they Always Cave. Always. Wouldn’t it make more sense to skip these sorts of stories as the predictable background noise that they are?
Does everyone in the GOP live in a vacuum? If so, why do they still have an air supply? Can’t anything be done?
And I’m sure “Bitch” McConnell will take these concerns under advisement…and then do what his corporate masters pay him to do. The one good thing is that he and the rest of his monstrous underlings in the Senate will “own” this.