We Have a Bill! But Can It Pass?

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It looks like we have a final health care bill. As expected, it eliminates all of Obamacare’s essential health benefits. Say hello to health care insurance that doesn’t cover hospitalization! The repeal is set for 2018, so states that want to set up their own lists of essential benefits had better get cracking.

In a vain attempt to avoid headlines about how Republicans are being mean to women, the final version of the bill also adds $15 billion to the “stability” fund for maternity care and a few other things. It pays for all these changes by delaying the repeal of the Medicare surcharge on the rich. Oddly, though, this $15 billion appears to be only for the year 2020. Is this a typo? Or what?