Today is a big day for American health insurance. By the time I publish this I think there will be a vote on whether the new American Health Care Act will go through. 

As a self employed person, the Affordable Health Care act is vital for me, as well as many of my other self employed friends. I don't have an employer to provide me with health insurance. I rely on the ACA for my health insurance and even though it is expensive, it's better than having no insurance at all. From my understanding, I will still be able to have health insurance, but I will not be getting any tax breaks, whereas someone who makes millions more than me, will get tax breaks. 

I'm also understanding that what were considered essential health benefits under the ACA might be eliminated. Things like pediatric services, mammograms, hospitalization, preventative and wellness services and even pregnancy. So, the GOP don't want to legalize abortions but they also don't want to have to cover ANYTHING that goes along with taking care of someone's baby.

I guess that makes sense because not ONE woman was on the board of the "Freedom Caucus". The so called council that is helping to write the American Health Care Act. NOT ONE WOMAN. 

Nancy Pelosi stated, in regard to the AHCA, "[eliminating] essential health benefits means Republicans are making being a woman a preexisting condition.

None of this makes any sense to me. Won't preventive and wellness services help keep health care costs down? Won't helping children who need pediatric services keep health care costs down? Won't providing people with mental health services help give people the care they need while also helping to keep some people safe, thus keeping health care costs down? 

This blows my mind, but this is nothing new when it comes to Trump's presidency so far.

As I was writing this post it looks as though the AHCA was pulled because there wasn't enough support for it! Amazing. This is such great news. However, I would have loved to see it go to vote and fail just so we could see that the GOP has no support on this at all. Now they can spin this as not a defeat or a loss. 

 I'm also waiting for the temper tantrum. I'm sure we'll be seeing a tweet from the Orange One by the end of the day about how this wasn't on him, it is someone else's fault entirely. There will be no acknowledgement on how it was a terrible idea and how only the rich benefited. There will also be no plan B. He'll just wait for the ACA to fall apart, blame others and introduce another bill that benefits the top 1%.

I hope in the end this only exposes him as a terrible deal maker. That all the things he says and does are for show. I hope that the people who voted for him start to see that he never wanted to help any of them. He just wanted to be voted in as one of the most powerful leaders of the world to benefit himself, and for his own ego. I just hope that it doesn't come to a horrific cost to all of us little people at the bottom.

Democracy triumphed today. I hope it continues to do so!