As part of Fox & Friends sycophantic coverage of the Affordable Health Care Act ("Trumpcare") vote in Congress today, cohost Brian Kilmeade described the looming catastrophe of Americans losing adequate coverage for pre-existing conditions as the loss of a “luxury.” Of course, nobody mentioned that while others may die from losing the “luxury” of affordable health insurance, Kilmeade and cohost Steve Doocy will get a financial windfall from the bill.
From Media Matters’ transcript (with my emphases added):
DOOCY: House Republicans today will vote for the American Health Care Act at one o’clock. The whip count looks like they’ve got exactly 216 votes. How did they get that? Well, yesterday, the president of the United States, I understand, spoke to Fred Upton who was against passing this last time and said Fred, what do you need to vote ‘yes’? He said well, I don’t like how you don’t include people with pre-existing conditions under that waiver thing. He said okay, well, figure it out. Then he and Billy Long pictured right back there at the back of that pack, they came up with this idea to put some money into a big pool to help finance healthcare for people in high risk categories.
[…]
KILMEADE: We are are going to stay away from the details right now. Just know this: $8 billion for pre-existing conditions. A lot of people focused on that. We can understand that America is getting used to having that luxury.
Doocy made one more effort to boost the plan which, by the way, a majority of Americans don’t want. “The key is gettin’ rid of all those, a lot of the regulations and a lot of the taxes which many small businesses have been burdened with over the last number of years,” Doocy said.
But Doocy’s folksy style hid a lot of elitist self-interest. As Think Progress noted, the vast majority of Trumpcare’s benefits go to people like Doocy and Kilmeade, those with incomes over $200,000 a year.
Besides what a great deal Trumpcare is for them personally, the details these fat cats didn’t want to go into reveal what a terrible deal it is for the rest of us.
When Kilmeade said, “Just know this: $8 billion for pre-existing conditions,” he clearly wanted voters to not know that that amount is nowhere near enough to do the job he disingenuously suggested it would. The non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities says Trumpcare “eviscerates critical protections for people with pre-existing conditions.” Millions of Americans stand to lose health insurance under Trumpcare, CBPP concludes. What a coincidence that the House Republicans don't want people to know the details of the bill they plan to pass, either.
Watch the Fox News flimflam below, from the May 4, 2017 Fox & Friends.
It’s times like these that I’d like to be a witch with the power to give them something like psoriasis which isn’t not contagious or life-threatening but likely to make one absolutely and totally miserable. Even the thermal healing centres are reluctant to give these patients entry to common spaces for fear of scaring the bejezzus out of other patients. .
A luxury? F you, Kilmeade. Tell us about your health care plan that Fox provides for you. Five years ago I had a mild stroke. I lost all feeling in my right arm and leg for two days. It was caused by high blood pressure. Twice a day I have to take Lisinopril to control it. My eating habits are far from perfect, but I’ve been going to a gym, seven days a week since 1993 doing an hour of cardio, every day. 30 minutes on a bike where I get about 7.5 miles, and 30 minutes on a treadmill doing 3 mph getting 1.5 miles each and every day. I’ve had no alcohol since my birthday in 1983.
Two years ago my job of 27 years was outsourced to Mexico and I lost my health care. Thanks to Obamacare I was able to get full coverage with Kaiser for $135 a month and my medication cost me $10 for a 100 day supply.
I know the Senate will have to pass this first and any changes will then go back to the House for a vote where they can’t lose more than two votes but in 13 days I’ll be 60 years old, leaving those like me in our age group in complete uncertainty on where this leaves us and at what cost.
Now that Trumpcare has passed the House and 26 million Americans face the loss of their health insurance, Speaker Eddie Munster Jr (AKA Paul Ryan) will proudly sprout a two-day woody for his legislative feat.
