The final chapter is far from written on the issue of the American Health Care Act–aka Trumpcare–but upon initial inspection, the bill narrowly passed last week by the House of Representatives would appear to be a major step in the wrong direction when it comes to assuring that more Americans have affordable health insurance and access to medical care when they need it.

But Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman says the Trumpcare legislation is even more pernicious than it appears on the surface, writing in the New York Times:

“It’s a miserably designed law, full of unintended consequences. It’s a moral disaster, snatching health care from tens of millions mainly to give the very wealthy a near-trillion-dollar tax cut. What really stands out, however, is the Orwell-level dishonesty of the whole effort. As far as I can tell, every word Republicans, from Trump on down, have said about their bill — about why they want to replace Obamacare, about what their replacement would do, and about how it would work — is a lie, including ‘a,’ ‘and’ and ‘the.’”

Krugman also notes that the GOP didn’t wait for a score from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and that the AHCA violates every promise the GOP made when the began their quest to kill Obamacare:

“Even without a proper analysis, however, it’s clear that Trumpcare breaks every promise Republicans ever made about health. Deductibles will rise, not fall, as insurers are set free to offer lower-quality coverage. Premiums may fall for a handful of young, healthy, affluent people, but will rise and in many cases soar for those who are older (because age spreads will rise), sicker (because protection against discrimination based on medical history will be taken away), and poorer (because subsidies will go down).

“Many people with pre-existing conditions will find insurance either completely unavailable or totally out of their financial reach.

“And Medicaid will be cut back, with the damage worsening over time.”

Not only are Republicans breaking their promises, Krugman concludes, they are clearly doing it with intent:

“This is an act of deliberate betrayal: Everything about Trumpcare is specifically designed to do exactly the opposite of what Trump, Paul Ryan and other Republicans said it would. What just happened on health care shouldn’t be treated as just another case of cynical political deal making. This was a Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength moment. And it may be the shape of things to come.”

This article was originally published by the same author at LiberalAmerica.org