The 7 most terrifying things about the Trumpcare bill that could pass today.
The American Health Care Act could pass the House today — and people are scared.
Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images.
With the addition of a last-minute amendment, Republican leaders are confident just enough moderate Republicans are on board to push the bill through to the Senate.
Despite the ostensibly moderating changes, the bill remains as potentially destructive as before.
As a result, thousands of citizens are hurriedly telling their representatives in no uncertain terms that they'll be voted out of a job if they pass it.
Here's why they're not waiting:
1. The Congressional Budget Office hasn't scored the current version of the bill, so we don't know how many people will lose coverage or how much it will cost.
A running congressman works to pass a bill very few people have even seen. Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images.
When the CBO scored the old draft of the bill that was tabled back in March, it found that, under its provisions, up to 24 million people could lose insurance coverage by 2026. The new version of the bill has been amended several times, but the score hasn't been reissued yet.
The updated law could cover more people. It could cover fewer. It could be less expensive. It could be more expensive. The problem is — nobody knows.
The House still plans to vote on it.
That's terrifying.
2. If you have any number of common pre-existing conditions, the bill could massively spike your premiums.
Despite Republican assurances that the proposed law "protects" people with pre-existing conditions, a recent amendment allows states to choose which health benefits they require insurers to cover — meaning maternity, mental health care, and more could be out depending on where you live — and to permit insurance companies to charge based on health status rather than age.
A Center for American Progress analysis concluded that this amendment would raise premiums by thousands — and in some case tens of thousands — of dollars for individuals with asthma, pregnancy, autism, kidney disease, cancer, and more.
3. Rape and sexual assault could be considered pre-existing conditions under the new law.
Prior to the ACA, insurers were largely free to deny health coverage to those who had suffered sexual violence.
Under the new law, insurance companies in some states could charge survivors much more than they're currently paying.
That's shockingly cruel.
4. Lifetime limits could make a comeback.
Before Obamacare, insurance companies could cap the amount they agreed to pay out over a customer's lifetime, forcing even insured people with expensive medical conditions to go deep into debt or go without care.
Allowing states to apply for waivers for essential health benefits could mean that insurance companies start setting those limits again, which would be devastating for people with chronic, lifelong illnesses.
5. The bill could cut funding for special education programs.
As if the heretofore illustrated level of cartoon villainy wasn't enough, the bill's giant Medicaid cuts would probably spell the end of many school services for disabled children who rely on that funding.
Clearly on a roll, the bill's architects figured they might as well throw in gutting care for poor, sick old people too while they're at it.
6. It could even mess with the health coverage you get through your employer, like most Americans do.
If you work for a big company with a presence in many states, your boss could choose to set up shop in the one with the skimpiest essential benefits standards, saving the company some money and gutting your coverage in the process.
That could mean you lose your mental health care, your mammograms, your vaccinations, or even your prescription drug coverage.
7. It could cause massive, unknown damage to the U.S. economy.
Over 12 million Americans work in health care. It's our country's fourth largest industry by GDP. No one knows for sure what impact the bill might have on all those jobs and all that market value because the bill has yet to be released publicly in its final form.
And the House seems like it's just going to roll the dice with it.
The vote is dangerously close.
Representatives leaning no as of now seem to include Mario Diaz-Balart, David Joyce, and Michael Turner.
Still undecided representatives presently may include Justin Amash, Paul Cook, Carlos Curbelo, John Faso, Darrell Issa, Steve Knight, Erik Paulsen, Bruce Poliquin, Peter Roskam, Ed Royce, Elisa Stefanik, Rob Wittman, Kevin Yoder, and Don Young.
If any of these people represent you, and this bill freaks you out, do yourself and your fellow Americans a favor, light up their phones this morning.
Emotionally, spiritually, and — perhaps most crucially — physically, we might all feel a lot better if this thing goes down.
A Generation Jones teenager poses in her room.Image via Wikmedia Commons
An office kitchen.via 
An angry man eating spaghetti.via 
An Irish woman went to the doctor for a routine eye exam. She left with bright neon green eyes.
It's not easy seeing green.
Did she get superpowers?
Going to the eye doctor can be a hassle and a pain. It's not just the routine issues and inconveniences that come along when making a doctor appointment, but sometimes the various devices being used to check your eyes' health feel invasive and uncomfortable. But at least at the end of the appointment, most of us don't look like we're turning into The Incredible Hulk. That wasn't the case for one Irish woman.
Photographer Margerita B. Wargola was just going in for a routine eye exam at the hospital but ended up leaving with her eyes a shocking, bright neon green.
At the doctor's office, the nurse practitioner was prepping Wargola for a test with a machine that Wargola had experienced before. Before the test started, Wargola presumed the nurse had dropped some saline into her eyes, as they were feeling dry. After she blinked, everything went yellow.
Wargola and the nurse initially panicked. Neither knew what was going on as Wargola suddenly had yellow vision and radioactive-looking green eyes. After the initial shock, both realized the issue: the nurse forgot to ask Wargola to remove her contact lenses before putting contrast drops in her eyes for the exam. Wargola and the nurse quickly removed the lenses from her eyes and washed them thoroughly with saline. Fortunately, Wargola's eyes were unharmed. Unfortunately, her contacts were permanently stained and she didn't bring a spare pair.
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Since she has poor vision, Wargola was forced to drive herself home after the eye exam wearing the neon-green contact lenses that make her look like a member of the Green Lantern Corps. She couldn't help but laugh at her predicament and recorded a video explaining it all on social media. Since then, her video has sparked a couple Reddit threads and collected a bunch of comments on Instagram:
“But the REAL question is: do you now have X-Ray vision?”
“You can just say you're a superhero.”
“I would make a few stops on the way home just to freak some people out!”
“I would have lived it up! Grab a coffee, do grocery shopping, walk around a shopping center.”
“This one would pair well with that girl who ate something with turmeric with her invisalign on and walked around Paris smiling at people with seemingly BRIGHT YELLOW TEETH.”
“I would save those for fancy special occasions! WOW!”
“Every time I'd stop I'd turn slowly and stare at the person in the car next to me.”
“Keep them. Tell people what to do. They’ll do your bidding.”
In a follow-up Instagram video, Wargola showed her followers that she was safe at home with normal eyes, showing that the damaged contact lenses were so stained that they turned the saline solution in her contacts case into a bright Gatorade yellow. She wasn't mad at the nurse and, in fact, plans on keeping the lenses to wear on St. Patrick's Day or some other special occasion.
While no harm was done and a good laugh was had, it's still best for doctors, nurses, and patients alike to double-check and ask or tell if contact lenses are being worn before each eye test. If not, there might be more than ultra-green eyes to worry about.