As the Bullshitter-in-Chief pushes the House of Representatives to take a vote on the disastrous healthcare legislation GOP lawmakers have assembled, U.S. Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ02)—who came out in support of the legislation earlier this week—appears to be done taking phone calls from constituents. Calling McSally’s D.C.’s office yields the following message: “Martha McSally is not answering. This mailbox is full and cannot accept new messages.”

McSally announced last night that she had pushed for an additional $15 billion to send to states to cover mental health and maternity care—which sounds great, except that, in an effort to bring the conservative Freedom Caucus on board, the latest amendments to the bill eliminate the 10 Essential Health Benefits of the Affordable Care Act. That means insurance companies will be able to offer skimpy (but cheap!) insurance plans that don’t cover vital healthcare services.

An article in Vox explains the problem with eliminating Essential Health Benefits:

There’s just one small problem: The individual insurance marketplace could unravel without them.

Remember how the EHBs made the marketplace viable, because they helped pool risk among the whole of the population, requiring everybody to pay a little for basic health care even if they aren’t going to use it, instead of just attracting sick people who may need those services?

“Without these requirements, you are looking at an individual market where the only policies available are extremely skimpy or expensive,” said Matthew Fiedler, a fellow at Brookings who served as chief economist of the Council of Economic Advisers, where he oversaw work on the Affordable Care Act. In the past, insurers had strong incentives to design plans in ways that were unattractive to people with predictable health needs or sick people. And getting rid of the essential health benefits, Fiedler said, “would give them a powerful tool to avoid people that expect to need care.”

Within two or three years, Blumberg expects more comprehensive coverage plans to dry up. Since insurers can’t deny coverage outright, and many will be tempted to go down to more limited polices that attract healthy people, insurers offering comprehensive policies would likely attract more sick expensive patients, which would create a selection problem and make the plans unsustainable.

Getting rid of EHBs would also make the promise of covering people with preexisting conditions meaningless. If a cancer patient or person with diabetes can get coverage but the cost of their chemotherapy or insulin isn’t covered, that coverage isn’t meaningful anymore, Blumberg said.

McSally says the bill is getting better and better, thanks to her hard work:

The amendment we successfully negotiated today is another important win for families. It secures an additional $15 billion to offer crucial care for mothers and their newborns, and for those who struggle with mental health disorders and substance abuse. The Affordable Care Act simply isn’t working, and this victory is another step in the right direction. By giving the states support to implement a smooth and stable transition, this amendment will prevent individuals who need healthcare the most from slipping through the cracks. We aren’t landing a helicopter, we are landing a 747, and we need a lot of runway to ensure a smooth transition to a system that lowers costs, expands choice, and increases quality of care. This amendment lengthens that runway.

It’s more like you’re landing a flaming dumpster, Congresswoman McSally.

This article appears in Mar 23-29, 2017.

Getting hassled by The Man Mild-mannered reporter

40 replies on ““Martha McSally Is Not Answering””

  3. I’m sorry but I am confused.

    Are we trying to control health care costs, or health care insurance costs? What have the doctors and the drug companies done to help?

  5. If the “Affordable Care Act simply isnt working..” why not fix it? Instead you’ve ridden this horse right off a cliff. Seven years of passing Obamacare repeal bills and this is what the GOP has been able to come up with? They are simply incapable of running a government.

  6. I know how you feel Matt. When Gabby Giffords told us the border was secure I disagreed. And now we see the carnage of her lies. I wanted her voted out, but my vote was washed away by the open borders crowd. It’s something you just have to get used to.

  7. No need to call McSally’s office, despite her pretense, we know how she will vote- WITH Trump:

    Fivethirtyeight.com reports that McSally is in the top 10 of all 435 Representatives in the House as a partisan in favor of Trump. They report she has voted One Hundred Percent with Trump’s agenda, despite the fact that CD 2 is one of the most “purple” districts in the country.

    Just one example from 538’s report: McSally, despite being from a district where our former Representative was shot in the head by a crazy person, just voted to prevent federal background checks on the mentally ill before they can buy a gun.

    https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/congr…

  8. Josh, would you vite with your antagonists, or your supporters in the last election, if it aligns with your core beliefs?

    It sounds like your candidate lost. That has consequences. Your purpleness doesn’t dictate anything.

  9. Rep. McSally is OUR representative for the next two-ish years, this is a fact that constituents who DID or DID NOT vote with her must reconcile with. The caveat is that Trump LOST the same district by 5 points, a fact that our Representative ought to remember. Summed up, the mandate for her in her district is to be a CHECK on executive powers, on Donald Trump.

    While we might think that we only get a voice every two years during the elections, this is not true. It is high time that we remind Rep. McSally that she represents a district that likes her moderate rhetoric and her “maverick” ideals. We can do this by engaging with her office: call them up at (520)881-3588 and either lodge a comment OR set up a meeting with staff to discuss issues. This is a little known think that we, as constituents, can do. Gather up in a small group of like minded people, and call to schedule a meeting with Constantine or Nancy and come prepared for a good discussion about a single issue (since effective meetings start with a focused topic).

    Engagement with your Congressional offices is intensely rewarding and is the next step in citizen engagement.

  10. Are you familiar with the term, “you can not serve two masters?” Using your analogy, Grijalva should have kept a check on Obama. Does that make any sense to you? Civics lessons are not always reality.

  11. Like most Repunblican Representatives, McSally has know suffered all of the negatives of talking up a bogus healthcare bill with none of the benefits of passing it. What a dumb strategic move.

  12. Patrick D, except that in your analogy between Obama and Grijalva, voters didn’t cross party lines to elect both of them. In civics classes, we are taught that the three branches of government are “co-equal,” but there is a strong indication that the framers did not intend even THIS. The argument goes, that the framers actually mean the Legislative Branch to be the strongest of the three, with Executive then Judiciary after it.

  13. But voters also didn’t cross party lines to elect the time of them. I was referencing the fact that Grijalva represented voters that did not support Obama. But this is now being brought about by gerrymandering and redrawing of lines. Something the framers also could not have seen coming.

    Gerrymandering – Wikipedia
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering
    In the process of setting electoral districts, gerrymandering is a practice intended to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating district boundaries.

    So we are left with this. But it’s a lot like those that say, Trump didn’t win the popular vote so we should throw out the electoral college.

    Those, are too desperate for an outcome. I trust the nation will survive.

  14. Patrick,

    Actually, the state of Arizona has an independent commission to redraw Congressional boundaries.

    I do think you are missing my point, though. McSally WON her district, but it is a decidedly diverse district and not one that in recent history has been deep red OR deep blue. If you use the recent election as a poll (and probably the most comprehensive one you will find), then the majority of her constituents do not support Donald Trump. I think it is pretty clear that we didn’t vote for her so she could rubber stamp Donald Trump, else he would have won in this district.

    Now, obviously things aren’t so simple. But I do think that anyone looking into a reelection committee ought to take this into account. Is it fair? Is it right? It doesn’t matter. The NUMBERS say that she leads a district that is skeptical AT BEST about Trump and his policies. And with Trump’s national trendline pointing downward, I doubt the trend differs here in CD2.

  15. The dog caught the car. Now that they are in power, republicans have no idea what to do with healthcare.
    Problem is, however, Obama Care does need major repair. Republicans and democrats need to find some affordable way forward. Won’t see it soon. Sad.

  16. Since we live within her district, I have sent a couple emails to Rep. McSally and it seems as though they have fallen off the side of a cold, distant cliff. Hard to reach.

  17. I got through to a human on Friday but all the aide really wanted was my name and address presumably so I can be on their mailing list in the future. That’s okay; when I get the propaganda in the future I will remember that I didn’t believe her previous mailings about how much she fights for women.

  18. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the regulations and economic incentives of Obamacare destroyed 3 million jobs. Very few districts suffered more as a result of that job stagnation than Congressional district #2.

    Obamacare also put the entire nation at risk because it transferred responsibility for healthcare from business to government. The percentage of businesses providing healthcare coverage fell from 67% to 58% – a devastating burden that will have to be borne into perpetuity. And, it will get worse in the future.

    In failing to pass these reforms, Republicans have put themselves at risk in the next election because the economy will not perform as well. In the end, it will be job creation that will determine their election prospects more so than health care.

    On the day of their failure, the total US stock market fell a trillion dollars – a loss dwarfing the stakes involved directly in the debate.

    The stock market is still up 2 trillion since election day but the margin of error is much lower now.

  19. When she’s up for re-election, she won’t win. She damn well knows that the Trump health care and tax reform will hurt those who can least afford to be hurt, and help the wealthy. Other republicans stated proudly that they would not support the Trump health care and tax reform measures. And what does she do? Cower under her desk, hold no town hall meeting for her constituents. I’ll not vote for her again.

  21. Rep McSally proves very tough to interact with. Voicemail boxes locally and in DC full, one is left with email, but that’s only through her web site, using the “Contact” form. If you have the patience to wade through multiple levels of security to post your question? The result of my attempts to comment and ask questions about legislation?. I am entered on her electronic mailing list, which yields regular emails telling me what a wonderful job she’s doing on every front.
    At least it seems non-partisan. She’s ignoring Republican, Independent and Democrat constituents equally.
    She’s apparently intent on building an “Anyone but McSally” coalition in 2018!

  22. The Republicans just want to eliminate anything that has the name “Obama” attached to it. Trump wants to do it because President Obama nailed the orange lying shitbag during the White House Correspondents Dinner in 2011 and Herr “Drumpf” made up his mind at that time to get even for being humiliated. Republicans spent 7, count ’em, SEVEN years trying to eliminate the Affordable Care Act and they did “NOTHING” “ZERO”,”NADA” for the American people during that time. They continued to draw their hefty salaries and receive the best HEALTH CARE in the nation. My concern is that the American voters are so easily duped by the Republicans because ,”You can fool some of the people ALL of the time” and it was proven during the 2016 election.

  23. Meanwhile the PM of Iraq says that they may take back Mosul from ISIS. he says the progress is phenomenal since Trump took over. He blamed Obama for “not wanting to get involved.” It’s what liberal do when the going gets tough.

  25. I called her when POS Trump was dishonoring a golf star family during his campaign for president and her reply was ” I do not get involved in political questions”. Being a veteran myself I thought she was voted in by us veterans to protect our interests and answer our questions. As usual another politician hiding behind her party. I am an independent voting veteran that will never again vote for veterans that do as their party says instead of what is right for all Americans.

  28. Oh no you didn’t, Martha Mcsally. Now she has said she does not believe a sexual assault victim. Because she was raped in the Air Force she can tell whether she is lieing or not? Wow you are more of the same old problem. And call out racism when it’s right in front of your face! It’s become tangible!

  29. And just so it’s clear, Martha Mcsally was not voted in she actually lost to Kirsten Cinema. She replaced John Mcain after his passing. Nominated by Ducey. McSally is no John McCain.

  30. Ms McSally’s comments calling a reporter a ‘liberal hack’ to raise money for her campaign is unbecoming if a Senator. It motivates me to donate to Mark Kelly’s 2020 campaign. She was appointed to the seat in the first place.

  32. I’m an independent in AZ & will NOT vote for Martha because of her attitude. Her actions when approached by the news media was totally uncalled for & typical of what I’ve been seeing from Republicans! What’s happened to this Party? A Party I once respected. They haven’t any dignity anymore 🙁

  34. I don’t know much about Sally but my first impression isn’t good. Calling Americans names because you don’t like what they are saying is very immature

  35. I was very disappointed at your comment to Manu Raju when he asked you a very simple and straightforward question. It was mean, spiteful unprofessional and unnecessary.
    The politicians in office seemed to have taken a step toward brass and insulting language regardless of the person addressing them. It’s sad to see. I really feel as a person in such an important leadership role, it was beneath you. My concern is for those young women considering a career in government and hoping to emulate someone of your status.
    Hopefully you’ll take this in the spirit that it was written without malice but knowing you are better than your reaction.
    Thanks
    Linda S Ashley

  37. I support Trump and calling ALL witnesses. That way we can put this thing to bed once and for all, with the caveat that if the vote is against impeachment in the Senate, the DNC is forced to reimburse the government the total cost of all these hearings, trials, and lost revenue. They have wasted three years.

    Oh yeah, and Biden has to return the tax payer money he received from at least three different countries. Ukraine, Iran and China.

  38. I love that.

    Call your first witness, “Joe Biden’s brother.”

    Next will be the daughter of Nancy Pelosi.

    King and Queen of quid pro quo.

  39. Thank you for your “witnesses vote” I want you elected over gabby’s husband..How Can I help ? I think the Garlands in Sedona insured McCains re election, can you get them ? We need you, Sinema is a joke…and Arizona gun rights extremely important…

  40. A vacation tax rebate will not help those of us that have lost our jobs at all. We need to be spending our time looking for jobs that fit our skills and continue to pay our bills. I won’t even think of traveling for at least a year if not a lot longer. I think giving vacation credits is only thinking about the travel industry and certainly not about the citizens that have lost almost everything in most cases. if this passes instead of something to help the people that are your bosses I may have to think about my 2020 vote. I am a strong Republican & would hate to vote any other way. The travel industry will survive when we all get back to work making what we need to live on.

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