In yet another partisan, secretive attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Senators Lindsey Graham, Bill Cassidy, Dean Heller and Ron Johnson today introduced a bill that would strip Medicaid funding, weaken protections for those with pre-existing conditions and lead to massive numbers of people losing the coverage they need. This bill is just as bad as – if not worse than – any of the repeal bills that came before, and threatens the bipartisan efforts to improve health care for millions that began last week. It is reckless and harmful, and its passage would devastate our families and our economy. Low-income women, families, people with disabilities, the elderly, and those who live in rural and medically underserved communities would suffer the most, with a compounding impact in Black, Latinx, Asian, Native American, and LGBTQ+ communities.

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Like its predecessors in the House and Senate, the Graham-Cassidy bill would make health insurance less affordable, less accessible and less comprehensive. It would reduce federal funding for the subsidies that help people afford insurance; let states obtain waivers to allow insurers to impose lifetime and annual caps and exclude essential health benefits – such as maternity care coverage and mental health care – from their plans; and embrace the same Medicaid cuts as the Senate’s failed health care repeal bill, gutting coverage for seniors, kids with disabilities and other vulnerable populations and effectively eliminating Medicaid expansion over ten years.
 
For months, MomsRising members across the country have been speaking out in support of the Affordable Care Act and in opposition to any plan that would make our country less healthy and less prosperous. We urge the Senate to reject the Graham-Cassidy bill or any attempt to undermine the consumer protections of the Affordable Care Act, and instead work across the aisle to stabilize the insurance markets and improve the health care system our families rely on. It’s the right choice for our families, businesses, communities and economy.

This statement has also been published in our newsroom.