In a recently
published Op Ed, former Acting Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Andy Slavitt criticized
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for employing “sabotage, speed and secrecy” to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Slavitt says McConnell and the Senate could have worked with the Democrats to create new legislation that could benefit many people,
but instead chose to work on passing a healthcare reform bill that was very close to the House bill which, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO),
would cause an estimated 23 million people to lose their healthcare coverage.
In order to “sabotage” the ACA, McConnell is reportedly telling GOP members they have no choice but to pass a replacement. To “speed”
up the process of passing the bill, McConnell deployed Rule XIV, a fast-track procedure that
moves the bill directly to the floor instead of through the committee,
beating the July 4th recess and giving no time for opponents and the public to catch up to the details. According to Slavitt, none of these tactics would work if
the bill wasn’t kept a secret for as long as possible, with only a small group of Republicans amending the bill behind closed doors.
He says McConnell’s “secrecy” is essential for him to be able to handle backroom deals with Republican state senators who might oppose the reform bill.
Read more here.