LETTER: GOP health care soup hard to swallow

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So, Republican chefs have been busy concocting a health plan recipe that will be palatable to the Congressional Budget Office – i.e., it will garner the magic numbers that will make it favorable to their Senate colleagues (note: not the American public).

Add a little spice here, water down the portions there. Make it not too spicy, nor too sweet. Actually, make it the blandest pablum possible. That seems to be their goal.

Is this the most ridiculous way to construct a healthcare plan for the American people that one could imagine?

Where in it is any discussion about what individuals need – sick, poor or old?

Where is there a statement about the goals of a good healthcare program? Obamacare had 10.

Where has there been an open discussion from all constituents about their concerns? (Theirs have all been cooked behind closed doors.)

Shouldn’t the process be to build from the ground up, not by trial and error?

My greatest criticism of the Republican methodology – and which reveals their true and mendacious intent – is that they had no plan until now. They’ve been criticizing Obamacare since its inception. They’ve been reciting their mantra of “repeal and replace” for years.

But instead of concentrating all that time on developing a robust and well-thought-out plan, they have simply spent their energy on repudiating something that was making positive headway in addressing the nation’s needs.

They had no plan, they have no plan, and they will never have a decent plan. The recipe they are trying to create is one of numbers (dollars), not one that has nutrition.

It makes me sick to my stomach.

JOHN DELANEY

Port Townsend