It’s called the “Graham-Cassidy bill,” but it’s really just another version of Trumpcare.
Since taking office, President Donald Trump has been cheering efforts by Congress to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a law that has saved countless lives and made health care affordable to tens of millions of people.
Efforts to repeal the ACA, also known as Obamacare, have failed time and again because millions of working families, including many AFSCME members, have raised their voices in opposition.
The last time we made our voices heard was back in July. Now we must raise our voices again, loudly and clearly. This latest effort, led by Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, would be just as catastrophic as previous ones, if not more.
It would still:
- Take away health insurance from 32 million Americans;
- Eliminate tax credits that help working people afford health coverage;
- Remove protections for people with pre-existing health conditions;
- End protections against lifetime and annual limits on insurance coverage;
- Undo guarantees that health insurance will cover essentials like maternity care and hospital visits;
- End funding for women’s health care services;
- Take away health care from children and low-income seniors;
- Include an “age tax” that allows insurance companies to charge premiums up to five times higher for older Americans;
- Drive up premium costs and out-of-pocket costs;
- End Medicaid as we know it - taking away health care from millions of vulnerable Americans, stripping billions from state budgets and putting hundreds of thousands of health care and public service jobs on the chopping block.
And that’s not even a complete list. No wonder leaders in Congress are trying to rush the process and approve the bill before the end of next week. They’re hoping we’re too distracted by other events, like the devastating hurricanes and wildfires that have caused so much harm and suffering in recent weeks, to notice the harm and suffering they are about to inflict.