The Trump Administration and Republicans in the House of Representatives are rushing a vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act this week and replace it with Trumpcare, which would devastate families in Indiana and across America. And U.S. Representative Susan Brooks is right there with them, jeopardizing health insurance and the wellbeing of people across Indiana.
“There are very few votes that define someone’s values like this one will. Representative Susan Brooks should do the right thing and oppose this reckless, partisan attack on people across Indiana. This bill will kick millions off of their insurance, needlessly bails out big insurance companies, and strips nearly $1 trillion from healthcare funding, all in order to cut taxes for the rich. If they vote for it, they should fully expect to be held accountable by their constituents,” said American Bridge Vice President Shripal Shah.
Nationally, the White House’s own Office of Management and Budget projects that Trumpcare would take health insurance away from 26 million Americans. This bill would also make healthcare costs soar for working and middle class people, senior citizens and rural communities.
Additionally, Trumpcare cuts nearly $900 billion from Medicaid, a lifeline for tens of millions, while at the same time cutting taxes for the wealthy by roughly the same amount. The Wall Street Journal even found that Donald Trump himself would receive millions of dollars in new tax breaks if Trumpcare passed.
But recently, Trumpcare was made much more threatening for Indianans. To gain votes from the most conservative members of Congress, an amendment was added to the bill that would cripple health coverage for people with preexisting medical conditions – which is protected under the Affordable Care Act – and force them into ineffective and underfunded “high-risk pools.” As a result, premiums for sick Americans could grow to over $25,000 a year.
This attack on preexisting conditions is being fought by the largest patient advocacy groups in the country, such as the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association. The main organization representing doctors in the United States, the American Medical Association, is also fighting against Trumpcare because of how harmful it would be to any American who gets sick and needs medical care. Faith leaders are also advocating against Trumpcare, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Now, at the last minute – and with a vote coming tomorrow – Donald Trump and Republican leadership in the House are attempting to buy members off with what the AARP confirms is a “giveaway for insurance companies” that will not address the damage Trumpcare would do to any American with a preexisting condition.
HOW TRUMPCARE WOULD HURT INDIANA
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In Representative Brooks’s district, the Center for American Progress shows there are 326,800 people who suffer from pre-existing conditions.
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The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that Trumpcare would cut Medicaid funding for Indiana by $8 billion.
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Also according to the the Center for American Progress, Trumpcare’s discriminatory “high risk pools” for sick Americans would be underfunded in Illinois by $575 million.
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Trumpcare would expose Indiana to threats from insurance companies that they would not offer insurance in the state unless Indiana’s state government obtained waivers for coverage of preexisting conditions and essential health benefits like hospitalization and prescription drugs.
TRUMPCARE’S WORST EFFECTS FOR THE COUNTRY
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The White House’s budget office estimated that Trumpcare would kick 26 million Americans off of their health insurance.
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The Congressional Budget Office calculated that Trumpcare would cut $880 billion from Medicaid.
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The AARP opposes this bill because it includes an age tax that could cost “up to $13,000 a year.”
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Trumpcare would gut health coverage for Americans with pre-existing conditions like Cancer and diabetes, and force them into discriminatory “high risk pools” that the majority of states have tried before and which experts show do not work and force sick Americans to pay skyrocketing costs.
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The Brookings Institution determined that, under Trumpcare, “a single state’s decision to weaken or eliminate its essential health benefit standards could weaken or effectively eliminate the ACA’s guarantee of protection against catastrophic costs for people with coverage through large employer plans in every state.”
Published: May 4, 2017