Contact:
Simona Combi, 202-265-5111, simona@globalpolicysolutions.org
T. Kevin Walker, 202-265-5111, kevin@globalpolicysolutions.org
WASHINGTON, June 26, 2017— Dr. Maya Rockeymoore, president and CEO of the Center for Global Policy Solutions, a public policy think tank and action organization, released the following statement in response to the Better Care Act, the Senate GOP health care bill:
The proposed Senate Republican health care bill is an assault on the physical and financial health and well-being of American families. It would devastate communities across the country, dramatically increasing the numbers of uninsured, weakening the pre-existing condition protections in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) through backdoor measures, reducing the subsidies that helped bring down the cost and increase access to quality health care for millions of Americans, and reversing the Medicaid expansion that helped struggling families—including many women, children, seniors, and people of color—gain access to much needed care.
Especially alarming is the attempt to phase out the Medicaid expansion by 2021. Medicaid is a vital source of care for many underserved communities. The bill intends to move Medicaid to a per capita cap, meaning less care for fewer people. In addition to draconian cuts that would hit low-income families hard, the bill takes special aim at harming the health and well-being of women by banning several forms of federal dollars, including Medicaid, from supporting the vital care that Planned Parenthood provides them for one year. Three-quarters of the public dollars spent on family planning in this country are Medicaid dollars, and 2.5 million people rely on Planned Parenthood for a range of health care services.
The so-called Better Care Act would also roll back the ACA subsidies, moving to a new formula that would stop at 350 percent of the poverty level, compared with the current 400 percent. This formula would tie the subsidies to the cost of less comprehensive health plans, meaning many consumers would get substantially less assistance, and they will be forced to spend extra dollars they can ill-afford trying to access necessary, yet uncovered, benefits.
The Senate Republican bill, which shares similarities with the House-passed health care bill, is an unconscionable attempt to strip health care away from many families who benefitted from the ACA. It is an unjust attack on those who are most vulnerable from a Congress intent on subsidizing the wealthy at the expense of low and moderate income families.
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Founded on the principle that a more inclusive nation is a stronger, more prosperous one, the Center for Global Policy Solutions (CGPS) is a 501(c)(3) that equips businesses and organizations with the tools to effect change, driving society toward inclusion. Drawing on our unique blend of policy and advocacy expertise, CGPS develops strategies, research, programs, policies, and communications that address disparities in health, education, and economic security by race/ethnicity, place, gender, and age.
