In a radio call-in show this morning, Ed Gillespie refused to take a position on TrumpCare… AGAIN. In fact, he denied the fact that the Senate even had a TrumpCare bill at all. But we already know that Gillespie wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act, no matter the cost to Virginia.
Here’s a few facts for Ed Gillespie on the Senate TrumpCare bill:
- The Senate TrumpCare bill would rip away insurance from over half a million Virginians.
- At least 14,500 veterans in Virginia could lose their insurance under the Senate plan by 2026.
- The plan would leave fewer seniors covered by health insurance and make coverage more expensive.
American Bridge spokesperson Lizzy Price made the following statement:
“Ed Gillespie has turned his back on Virginians concerned about their health care being ripped away. The TrumpCare bill is real and it may be a sweet deal for Gillespie and his lobbyist pals, but it’d be a disaster for the hard working Virginia families he claims to want to represent. Gillespie needs to come clean with Virginia voters about his position on the future of their health care.”
TRANSCRIPTION
Host: This certainly falls in large part Mr. Gillespie to the healthcare discussion. your opponent is attempting to hammer you early and often in his view for not taking a position on any of those proposed replacements for the Affordable Care Act so well here’s your chance between thehouse-passed version and the one now before the Senate which one would you prefer and why?Along that line
(00:00:23)
GILLESPIE: Well the Senate version I’ve not seen it’s being retooled and worked on right now unless you have a version I’m not aware of. In the House I’ve got some concerns with what they did in terms of for example the treatment of states that did not take the Medicaid expansion like Virginia. We’ve been fiscally responsible, we should not be punished for that. I do think people should be protected in terms of pre-existing conditions when they enter the marketplace or come off of your parent’s plan and help get your own plan. There needs to be consumer protections so when you bring down the cost of health insurance coverage which has skyrocketed under Lieutenant Governor Northam’s policies which he supports which is the Affordable Care Act.version
(00:01:11) I was talking to a woman recently who has two young children, she provides the insurance for her family, for her husband as well. And under the Affordable Care Act, her monthly premiums tripled from $400 dollars a month to $1,200 dollars a month and that was a plan with a ten thousand dollar deductible which is hardly any coverage at all. And I’ve seen that and heard that from people all across Virginia. The out-of pocket expenses for premiums, co-pays and deductibles have skyrocketed.
(00:01:38) And we’ve driven insurers out of the marketplace. I’m sure you saw that Aetna and United will be leaving the Virginia exchanges next year. That will fifty-seven cities and counties with only one insurer no competition. And people are losing their choice of doctors and too many Virginians are capped at twenty-eight hours a week instead of a forty hour workweek because of the employer mandate.
(00:01:58) So the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare, has been a disaster for Virginians and it does need to be replaced. And it needs to be replaced with policies that bring down the cost of insurance, and encourage more competition, allow us to keep the doctor of our choice. And does protect consumers in terms of pre-existing conditions. I believe we can get a plan that does those things.
(00:02:25) And you know that would be better than Governor Northam’s proposal which is to have all of the taxes, and all of the mandates, and all of the regulations and the negative impact that we’re seeing from the Affordable Care Act that he supports.
Published: Jul 12, 2017