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Interesting that GOP and WH saying CBO scoring shouldn't be taken seriously but hasn't mentioned WH analysts, OMB, estimated even higher number of Americans losing their health insurance, 26 million. Standard and Poor's and Brookings gave GOP/Ryan plan very poor grade. Consumer's Union gave it an F. Most healthcare organizations against it, incl, AMA, American Hospital Assn, MN Hospital Assn, Kaiser, AARP.

Block grants just shift costs to the states which is a common conservative tactic to get rid of government programs that majority of Americans approve of and need. Block grants forces states to make hard choices who gets hurt with less oversight. Historical data shows that instituting block grants decreases Medicaid funding over time.

There's a lot of news coverage on how the GOP/Ryan no care plan hurts the working poor but this plan negatively affects healthcare insurance coverage for all of us who are not wealthy.

People seem to forget that Medicaid pays for a lot of Americans in nursing homes and Medicaid block grants would create humanitarian and economical crises around the country. How many Americans would be able to take in or pay for their disabled and/or elderly family members care?

We don't get enough funding to adequately treat mental illnesses or opioid/drug addictions right now which are huge issues in rural/small town counties. St. Louis Co has one of the highest number of opioid overdoses in MN. There would be even less funding under AHCA.

Giving big surtax cuts to the wealthy means higher premiums for the rest of us including Medicare premiums. Hundreds of billions of dollars cut from our health care coverage to give right back to the wealthiest of us. Most people I know in their 50's are just waiting to get on Medicare because of their current high premiums and deductibles on their private market plans or their employer provided plans. The GOP plan would allow some companies to forgo providing health insurance to their employees. It might be wise for them and current Medicare recipients who have been putting off a medical procedure to schedule it sooner because no matter how low the odds of this repeal of getting passed in the Senate or even the House are, I have no doubt they will keep chipping away at our insurance coverage.

It's not just people becoming uninsured. It's our hospitals, clinics and health care jobs that will lose out.

13 members of the RSC met with Trump to discuss AHCA recently including Medicaid work requirements and block grants. One of them, AL Republican Rep Aderholt, released a statement after. Aderholt had concerns about treatment of older, poorer Americans as in his state. Aderholt said Trump listened to the fact that a 64 year old making $26,500 a year would see insurance premiums go up from $1,700 to $14,600 per year. "The president looked me in the eye and said, 'These are my people and I will not let them down. We will fix this for them'. I also asked the president point blank if this House bill was the one he supported. He told me he supports it 'one thousand percent' ". Then Aderholt said after getting "Trump's word that these concerns would be addressed, I changed my vote to yes". What?!?!? How does that make any sense? Just trust Trump? Seriously?

Tucker Carlson interviewed Trump last week.

Carlson: This bill has a tax cut for investors primarily benefiting those who make over $250,000 a year, who have already done quite well in the last ten years. A Bloomberg analysis showed middle class and working counties who voted for you would do far less well under this bill.

Trump: Oh, I know, I know.

Carlson: Maybe this isn't consistent with your message.

Trump: A lot of things aren't consistent.

He's not even denying his his health care proposal will punish his own supporters. Just trust he will "fix" it later.

Tom Price said "Nobody will be worse off financially". He also said children's vaccinations should be up to the states. That would work out well...not.

Paul Ryan said, "I can't answer that question" if there will be coverage losses. "It's up to people. People are going to do what they want to do with their lives because we believe in individual freedom in this country."

Chris Wallace, Fox News, pressed Ryan on that which surprised me: "You said this is what freedom looks like. What people are saying is this isn't freedom, this isn't people voluntarily deciding not to have health insurance. It's that your plan makes it unaffordable for people."

Check out excellent Ezra Klein youtube: "The more you need, the less you get".

Now comes Trump budget wish list, nickel and diming Americans some more, cutting or eliminating funding to basic programs which help people who need them and cost peanuts, Meals on Wheels, after school programs feeding children, heating assistance, health care to retired coal miners, PBS, veteran housing, etc, etc.

Budge director Mulvaney said about Meals on Wheels which feeds seniors probably the only regular meal they get a day, "Can we ask the taxpayer to pay for this?" Reporter Jim Acosta asked Mulvaney if it is also a hard-hearted budget. "No, I think this is one of the most compassionate things we can do". Acosta asked incredulously: "To cut programs that help the elderly and kids?" Mulvaney: "We're not going to ask you for your hard earned money anymore unless we can guarantee the money is actually being used in a proper function."

Huh? The cruelty of these kind of "priorities" is staggering. Turning the richest country on earth into a third world country looks like a deliberate goal not just gross ignorance.