Monday, September 10, 2018

Schimel, w/Walker's OK, wants Affordable Care Act killed. Now.

If the Walker-Schimel
tag team has its way, health insurers could again refuse to cover you if you have a pre-existing condition - - childhood diabetes, cancer, you name it - - in a intentionally discriminatory, freshly-chaotic 'market.'
The kind of market these Republicans like - - where the so-called 'free' market is free to price you out or shut the physician's door in your face.

Because the only pre-existing conditions to which the Schimels and Walkers of the political world are sympathetic are their own self-serving special-interest connections and partisan incumbencies.

So keep in mind as the Nov. 6th election rolls around that GOP AG Brad Schimel, doing Walker's bidding - - and this is not the Walker-Schimel's first Trump-friendly, anti-Obama rodeo - -  is a prime mover in court action underway now in a federal court in Texas to have Obamacare immediately ruled unconstitutional.

At a minimum, the states asked Judge Reed O’Connor to strike down in their states the parts of the law that prohibit health insurance companies from refusing to cover people with pre-existing health conditions or charging them higher rates
In a news release when the lawsuit was filed, Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel took credit with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for taking the lead in the lawsuit filed by 18 state attorneys general and the governors of Maine and Mississippi. 
The lawsuit was filed with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s approval.
I noted the Schimel's handiwork at the time. 
Wisconsin GOP Attorney General Brad Schimel is lauding his litigation against Obamacare:
Texas and Wisconsin, joined by 20 states, filed a lawsuit in federal court earlier this month asking the federal courts to obey what the Supreme Court has already recognized and hold all of Obamacare unconstitutional...
We bring this challenge to Obamacare because, as state attorneys general, we took an oath of office to uphold the rule of law and protect the rights of Americans from the unconstitutional, ever-expanding intrusion of the federal government.
Remember that Obamacare helps fund Medicaid, so this latest Schimel ploy if successful could make it harder for opioid addicts covered by Medicaid to receive expanded treatment - - as The [Federal] Centers for Medicare and Medicaid recently explained in plain English:
CMS announces new Medicaid policy to combat the opioid crisis by increasing access to treatment options
While Wisconsin on Schimel's watch had the largest uptick in opioid-related emergency room admissions in one, 16-state survey.
So while Schimel is praising himself for litigating against Obamacare - - and suing over Obama-era actions is a major, state-subsidized Schimel behavior - - he's also declined to litigate against the opioid manufacturers who have helped flood the state and nation with addicting pills.
Well done.

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