
Republican Rep. Darrell Issa still supports the Republican bill to repeal Obamacare, even though 23 million people will lose health coverage. But his answer for why he supports it is simply astonishing.

California Rep. Darrell Issa, like most of his fellow House Republicans, voted for the disastrous bill to repeal Obamacare and force 23 million people to lose their health coverage.

But according to Issa, under the bill he supports, people won't really lose insurance — even though that is exactly what the Congressional Budget Office reported. Instead, according to Issa, "Many of those people who will lose their health care will simply choose not to be insured."

Issa also complained that one of the problems of Obamacare is "that it was anti-choice because you could not choose not to take insurance."


It's rich of Issa to oppose Obamacare on that grounds that it is "anti-choice," when Issa has been a vociferous opponent of access to a full range of health care, and has strongly supported his party's agenda of depriving women of the right to make their own reproductive choices.

But worse, Issa's response shows at total lack of understanding about the bill he voted for. Under Obamacare, more people have greater access to a range of health care services that simply would not be available under the so-called American Health Care Act.

In fact, as the CBO noted, people with pre-existing conditions "would ultimately be unable to purchase comprehensive nongroup health insurance at premiums comparable to those under current law, if they could purchase it at all."

Further, the GOP bill would allow insurers to cease providing coverage of essential health benefits, including "maternity care, mental health and substance abuse benefits, rehabilitative and habilitative services, and pediatric dental benefits."

Issa is just plain wrong to assume American would choose to be denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions, as was so common prior to Obamacare. And he is just plain wrong that people would prefer to have health care coverage that does not actually cover basic health care.

Those Republicans, like Issa, who refuse to listen to the voters and insist on destroying the popular health care system that a majority of the country does not want to lose are making a huge mistake. And it's a mistake that will cost them dearly the next time their name is on the ballot.