The Republican vision for health care no longer has anything to do with repeal and replace. Instead, it's just get rid of Obamacare and all of its consumer protections so that cheap, skimpy insurance plans that don't cover anything can return. The whole idea of actually replacing Obamacare but keeping protections for people with pre-existing conditions is totally out the window with the ascension of Trump.

Here’s what the GOP has in mind: Weakened protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Skimpier benefits that leave out coverage for important medical needs. Less protection from financial harm due to illness. And a number of actions designed to make the Affordable Care Act's exchanges less stable for the millions of Americans who use them.

From the Trump administration sabotage of the open enrollment period last year, to the regulations it has proposed, to new state experiments to limit coverage, the Republicans seem to want nothing more than the return to the bad old days. This week it's new rules for short-term limited-duration insurance policies, which are being envisioned as plain old insurance available for the long term, but are cheap. They're cheap because they won't cover what a lot of people will need.

The policies exist now, but only for up to three months, a stop gap while someone is in a short-term gap between coverage. Trump wants to make them basically regular insurance available for a year at a time and is even kicking around the idea of making them renewable. We know from the existing plans that this is bad news.