This morning, Jake Tapper interviewed Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price. Tapper quoted the Congressional Budget Office's estimate that 24 million people would lose their insurance because of the plan currently under consideration, then asked: ""Given the fact that the President promised insurance for everyone, how do you justify to the millions of voters who believed President Trump that there would be insurance for everyone when there clearly is not going to be?"
Price responded, "The President is committed to that, as am I. The fact of the matter is, this bill that's moving through Congress right now is simply the first step in this process."
Two things to say about this. One is that a lot of folks in Congress want that to be the final step in the process. People like Price have to express some outrage at that bill in order to get it modified, not act like it merely needs some commas moved and numbers tweaked a bit.
Second thing: All insurance is not created equal. Some of it costs too much for many people to afford. Some of it comes with deductibles so high, it's almost like having no insurance. Some of it doesn't cover much no matter how high the deductible.
It would be very easy for the Republicans to craft a plan that gave everyone insurance that was largely worthless. Or to give everyone the opportunity (i.e., "access to insurance") they couldn't possibly afford. I wish the discussion was about decent insurance for everyone.