Repeal Measure Would Have Imposed Massive Cuts on Medicaid
Washington – U.S. Senate Leadership today announced it would forgo plans to vote on the Graham-Cassidy proposal to repeal the Affordable Care Act and decimate the funding structure of Medicaid.
As yesterday’s limited score from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office revealed, the Graham-Cassidy effort would have led to tens of millions of people losing health care coverage in part to the $1 trillion cuts from Medicaid included in the proposal.
“Over the past few weeks, we have witnessed positive steps towards bipartisanship with the announcement by Senators Hatch and Wyden of an agreement to reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program and the work of the Senate HELP Committee under the leadership of Senators Alexander and Murray to consider proposals to stabilize the health insurance marketplaces,” National Health Law Program (NHeLP) Executive Director Elizabeth G. Taylor said. “A growing segment of the country has embraced Medicaid and the fairness of ensuring all individuals and families have access to quality health care. Let us move away from efforts to dismantle Medicaid and instead move forward together to improve the health care system in ways that secure the health rights of all individuals.”
NHeLP Managing Director of the D.C. office Mara Youdelman noted health care advocates must remain vigilant and prepare to fight renewed efforts to repeal the landmark health care law and gut Medicaid.
“The Graham-Cassidy effort was riddled with the same flaws as its predecessors,” Youdelman said. “Instead of a good-faith, transparent effort to bolster the Affordable Care Act, Senators Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy peddled another repeal of the ACA with even more drastic cuts to Medicaid. Access to health care improves the lives of people and their communities, and leads to a stronger country. Senators should return their focus to the ACA’s marketplaces and work on bolstering them, which can lead to an even stronger health care law.”
Please contact NHeLP’s Director of Communications Jeremy Leaming for further comment on the Graham-Cassidy measure to repeal the Affordable Care Act and gut Medicaid.
NHeLP, founded in 1969, advocates for the rights of low-income and underserved people to access quality health care.