Graham-Cassidy Proposal: the Sequel No One Wanted

After a series of failed Senate votes in July on Trumpcare, thanks to supporters like you, the return of Trumpcare is here. In fact, it's the worst ACA repeal bill yet. Worse than the AHCA, worse than Trumpcare 2.0, and worse than the “Skinny Repeal.”  No matter what version of Trumpcare, it’s still the worst bill for women’s health in a generation, and every bit as devastating to Planned Parenthood patients. The most current proposal by Republican Senators Graham (SC), Cassidy (LA), Heller (NV), and Johnson (WI) takes the cake however, expanding on past bills to disproportionately impact low-income women and women of color.

Like other versions, the Graham-Cassidy-Heller Proposal slashes Medicaid funding, which 1 in 5 women of reproductive age rely on for care, including birth control and cancer screenings; eliminates the employer mandate requiring larger companies to offer affordable coverage to their employees;  “defunds” Planned Parenthood, which would block nearly 24,000 Minnesotans from accessing care at our clinics with other health clinics unable to pick up the slack and potentially leading to  more undetected cancers, abortions and unintended pregnancies; and imposes a nationwide ban on private insurance coverage of abortion, further restricting access and striping away the autonomy of women. The biggest differences of this proposal are:

• Eliminating the individual mandate which requires most Americans to have health coverage or pay a fine. Repealing the mandate will jeopardize the future stability of the private health insurance market.
• Eliminates ACA subsidies and cost-sharing reductions that help low- and middle-income Americans purchase health insurance.
• Rather than funding Medicaid and subsidies, inadequate block grants would be given to states to opt out of core ACA protections, including protections for people with pre-existing health conditions. .
• Gutting Essential Health Benefit protections including maternity care and prescriptions. 13 million women would be at risk of losing coverage to maternity care. Furthermore, it allows individual states to decide what qualifies as an essential health benefit.

Like every other version of Trumpcare, the Graham-Cassidy-Heller proposal  makes it harder to prevent unintended pregnancy, harder to have a healthy pregnancy and harder to raise a family.  This outrageous attack on peoples’ right to have control over their bodies cannot be allowed. Our representatives must be held accountable and must listen to their constituents. It’s clear that the American people strongly oppose blocking Planned Parenthood access. With Republican lawmakers trying to force Graham-Cassidy-Heller into law before September 30, we must stand up and fight back now.