This is not a drill. The latest version of Trumpcare — Graham-Cassidy — would be a DISASTER
By Sophie Ota | Sept. 18, 2017, 3:01 p.m.
Category: Attacks on Planned Parenthood, Health Care Equity
The GOP just won’t stop attacking our health care.
The so-called “Graham-Cassidy bill” is Senate Republicans’ latest attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act, “defund” Planned Parenthood, and take health care away from millions of people. And they only need 51 votes to do it.
But don’t be fooled by the new name. The Graham-Cassidy bill is just the latest version of Trumpcare — and it’s just as terrible as the last version.
So what would this bill do?
- It would block people with Medicaid coverage from getting care at Planned Parenthood health centers — that's more than half of all Planned Parenthood patients. This would eliminate reproductive health access for many women, men, and young people who access care at Planned Parenthood health centers.
- The ability to charge people more — just because they have a pre-existing condition — is back. Anyone who has what an insurer deems a “pre-existing condition” could be charged an extreme premium for coverage.
- It would eliminate or weaken the requirement to cover essential health benefits like maternity care, emergency care, and prescription drugs. Nearly 13 million women could lose coverage to maternity care.
- It would end Medicaid expansion that has extended coverage to 11 million low-income people. This would force states to come up with the extra money or cut eligibility and services for Medicaid recipients.
In fact, this bill is so bad that GOP leaders brought ex-senator and anti-women extremist Rick Santorum back to Capitol Hill to try and pitch the bill to their colleagues.
Republican leaders are determined to pass this damaging legislation, and they’re on a tight deadline. If they don’t get the votes by September 30, they will need 60 votes to pass any ACA repeal bill.
So they’re pulling the same dishonest tricks they used with Trumpcare earlier this summer. Behind closed doors, Mitch McConnell and other male members of Congress are plotting to ram the Graham-Cassidy bill through without any public discussion.
And make no mistake. The Graham-Cassidy bill is picking up steam with the GOP fast. If enough GOP senators support the bill, they could force it into law by the end of the month.
The time is now. It’s up to us to put pressure on our senators and tell them to STOP the Graham-Cassidy bill in its tracks. If we don’t, the bill could very well end up on Donald Trump’s desk.
Phone your senators NOW. We must reject the Graham-Cassidy billTags: Medicaid, Trumpcare, medicare, Graham-Cassidy
