During Sundays Last Week Tonight, John Oliver slammed Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives for endorsing a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare without even reading it. The host singled out New York Representative Chris Collins who, seemingly confused by one aspect of the bill in aBuffalo Newsinterview, asked the reporter toexplain it to him. I can explain it to you right now, Oliver snapped. You fucked up.
Oliver also blasted South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford, who when asked by CNN if he read the entire American Health Care Act admitted, I turned through every page [of the bill]. As to whether or not I got through some the details of some of the pages, no but, yes, I attempted to read the entire bill.
You turned through every page? Oliver fumed. Thats not how you read a bill thats how you check a bill for spiders.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the AHCAs previous iteration would result in 24 million uninsured Americans by 2026. But as Oliver noted, the revamped bill that passed through the House last week included a particularly unpleasant addition: a mechanism allowing insurance companies to raise rates on patients with pre-existing conditions.
They took a bad thing and managed to make it even worse, Oliver cracked. Its like watching Mariah Careys Glitter and saying, You know what this needs? Jar Jar Binks.'
Though the bill passed by a narrow margin in the House, many liberals assume the AHCA will flounder in the Senate. Nonetheless, Oliver warned against complacency: It is dangerous to assume that this bill will die on its own, he said. Your senators are incredibly important right now. And theyre going to recess soon, so you need to let them know how you feel about this.