Rep Tom MacArthur passed Trumpcare by excluding pre-existing conditions — then he faced a Town Hall

Trumpcare was dead on arrival (again) until Rep Tom MacArthur [R-NJ; Twitter: @RepTomMacArthur; DC: (202) 225-4765; Burlington County: (856) 267-5182; Ocean County: (732) 569-6495] introduced an amendment that allowed insurers to refuse to cover people with "pre-existing conditions" including surviving domestic violence and/or rape, living with PTSD, being born with a congenital defect, and so forth.


Now, with some appreciable slice of 22 million people poised to lose their insurance because of his actions, MacArthur is facing the music.

In a grueling, 5-hour town hall this week in his hometown of Willingboro, NJ, MacArthur was repeatedly drowned out by roars of disapproval from his constituents, who took to the mic to ask pointed questions like "How did it pass your conscience to allow rape to be considered a preexisting condition, forcing women to choose between justice and protecting their affordable healthcare?"

They also filled the parking-lot with tombstones, and informed him in no uncertain terms that they viewed him as the architect of their sorrows: "This is your healthcare bill. It was dead in the water and could have stayed dead in the water. It was done. You brought it back from the dead. It's yours. You own it." Also: "You are the reason I can't sleep at night" (from Geoff Ginter of Point Beach, whose wife is a cancer survivor).

Many took the opportunity to grill MacArthur about the need for single payer healthcare, an issue which has gained significant traction in recent years—and especially over the last few months. (Indeed, a record 104 House Democrats signed on to co-sponsor a "Medicare-for-All" bill introduced in April.)

As MacArthur attempted to say that the insurance market was "collapsing," an audience member shouted, "Because you drilled holes in it!" and a spontaneous chant began: "Single payer! Single payer! Single payer! Single payer!"

"Some of you want single-payer across the board? Medicare for all?" MacArthur later asked sarcastically. Wild applause followed.

'Single Payer! Single Payer!': Key Trumpcare Backer Drowned Out During Town Hall
[Nadia Prupis/Common Dreams]


(via Naked Capitalism)