On Thursday, July 13, 2017, Rep. Jason Lewis (MN02) published an op-ed in the Pioneer Press calling for drastic Medicaid cuts that would put the health and well-being of millions of Americans in jeopardy. Let’s get a few things straight and focus on facts, not spin.
FACT: The plan Rep. Lewis supports would “defund” Planned Parenthood and could roll-back ACA regulations requiring contraceptives and other preventive services to be covered at no out-of-pocket cost. This plan would make it harder to prevent unintended pregnancy, harder to have a healthy pregnancy, and harder to raise a family.
FACT: The plan that Rep. Lewis supports jeopardizes health care coverage for 23 million Americans, including 1.2 million low-income Minnesotans who rely on Medicaid for their health care coverage.
FACT: Rep. Lewis voted to defund Planned Parenthood and to risk access to life-saving cancer screenings, contraceptives, annual exams, and STD testing and treatment. The so-called “reform” he is calling for would gut essential health care for women. If Planned Parenthood were “defunded,” 4,976 of constituents in Rep. Lewis’ district would immediately lose access to their provider of their choice for life-saving cancer screenings, birth control, annual exams, STD testing and treatment, and more.
FACT: Rep. Lewis supports plans that would fail Minnesotan women and families by rolling back or eliminating access to services and insurance options.
- The ACA was the single greatest advancement for women’s health in a generation. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Minnesota cut its uninsured rate in half, with 96% of Minnesotans now having health insurance.
- Prior to the ACA, 20% of all women, and 48% of low-income women, put off or postponed preventive services due to cost concerns.
- With the ACA’s requirement that preventive services are covered at no cost to patients, women can now access a full range of contraceptives, treat STDs and get routine cancer screenings without fear of high out-of-pocket costs.
FACT: 15% of Minnesota women rely on Medicaid. Low income Minnesotans, Minnesotans of color, and Minnesotans who live in rural areas — people who make up the majority of Planned Parenthood’s patients – would be disproportionately impacted by the “reforms” supported by Rep. Lewis.
FACT: Planned Parenthood is the nation’s leading reproductive health care provider and advocate—that’s why the majority of Minnesotans, and the majority of Americans, support Planned Parenthood.
- Minnesotans don’t want to see Planned Parenthood defunded by the state or federal government: 69% of Minnesotans want to see funding for the family planning and contraceptive services Planned Parenthood provides stay the same or increase.
- Nationally, 71% of Americans support the ACA’s requirement that health insurance plans cover the full cost of birth control.
Tags: minnesota, Jason Lewis