We were all heartened when Senator McCain stood up and voted No on the Senate’s healthcare bill a few weeks ago. Prior to the vote, I, like many others, had been repeatedly contacting my Senators’ offices via phone, email, postcard — to request that they vote No (although it didn’t seem likely either Sen Flake or Sen McCain would vote No at the time). And sometimes I requested a response to my comments.
Today I received this reply from Senator McCain’s office (my emphasis added):
Thank you for contacting me to share your views about health reform. I appreciate knowing your thoughts on this very important topic.
Since the enactment of Obamacare more than seven years ago, American’s across the country continue to see the consequences of this disastrous law. In Arizona alone, the cost of midlevel health insurance plans on Obamacare’s marketplace increased by 116 percent on average last year. Worse still, before Obamacare, Arizona had 24 insurance companies selling plans on the individual market. Today, there are just two companies and 14 of Arizona’s 15 counties have just one insurer. That is not what President Obama promised when this bill was signed into law, and why the status quo is simply unacceptable.
As you may know, earlier this year I voted against the so-called ‘skinny repeal’ amendment because it would not have accomplished what I have been promising Arizonans for seven years, and that is to repeal and replace Obamacare. While the amendment would have repealed some of Obamacare’s most burdensome regulations, it offered no replacement to actually reform our health care system and deliver affordable, quality health care to our citizens.
As we move forward, it is critical that Congress not make the mistakes of the past that has led to Obamacare’s collapse, including in my home state of Arizona where premiums are skyrocketing and health care providers are fleeing the marketplace. We must now return to the correct way of legislating and send the bill back to committee, hold hearings, receive input from both sides of aisle, heed the recommendations of our nation’s governors, and produce a bill that finally delivers affordable health care for the American people. Ultimately, the final product must be based around the fundamental value of freedom, and Obamacare is not.
The use of the “Obamacare” terminology is a signal that he is still clinging to Republican party talking points. The additional “not what President Obama promised” slam feels a little personal (perhaps McCain’s still holding a grudge). (Of course he never mentions the actions taken by his fellow Republicans to undermine the ACA — the impact that had on the individual market.)
As he lays out in his letter, he voted to force the Senate’s bill to follow standard procedure. And that is a help because it should give Democrats at least some tiny opening to propose their own fixes. He also notes that the bill “offered no replacement to actually reform our health are system and deliver affordable, quality health care to our citizens”. Which is definitely a promising ideal. (Although he might have been even more swayed by the public pressure from Arizona’s Governor Ducey who came out loudly against the Senate’s bill the week before the vote.)
But his focus at the end is a clue that he’s still lost in the GOP healthcare weeds: “the final product must be based around the fundamental value of freedom”. The GOP believes the core concern for health care reform must be “freedom”. He doesn’t realize that the primary concerns for most Americans affected by the health care debate are access, affordability and stability.
Oddly, his letter still feels like a traditional Senator’s letter — full of political shots at his opponents, softening up his constituents to make sure they are in his camp come the next election cycle. Seems odd, given his personal circumstances, but I guess it’s just the way he and his staff work… keeping up appearances.