Washington, D.C. — Republicans in the House just voted to strip 17 million Americans of their health care in order to fund massive tax breaks for the wealthiest people and corporations. This is the largest attack on health care in history, and the consequences will be catastrophic. Not only will millions lose life-saving coverage, but hospitals and nursing homes will shut down, working families will face higher costs, thousands will lose jobs, and states and local economies will be left to suffer. These drastic cuts will bring uninsured rates back to a level not seen since before the passage of the Affordable Care Act.
“Republicans just handed out a death sentence to the American people,” said Protect Our Care’s Chair Leslie Dach. “They knew exactly what this bill would do and passed it anyway, selling out their constituents to make the rich even richer. The damage will be felt in every corner of the country – families will be thrown off coverage, children will lose access to care, hospitals and nursing homes will shut their doors, entire communities will be left behind, and people will die. Every member who voted ‘yes’ just booked a one-way ticket out of Congress, and no amount of lies can save them from their constituents.”
BACKGROUND:
Here are five key ways the GOP tax scam will decimate health care for Americans:
- Republicans will cut over $1 trillion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act to pay for handouts to the wealthiest Americans and corporations. The big, ugly bill will destroy the pillars of American health care with the largest cuts to health care in history, jeopardizing programs that nearly 100 million Americans rely on for their care – all to give trillions in tax breaks to billionaires and hugely profitable companies. To top it off, Republicans battled the Senate parliamentarian to sneak in a $5 billion giveaway to drug companies at the ninth hour, driving up the cost of prescription drugs for seniors and taxpayers.
- Republicans will rip away health care from 17 million Americans, including seniors, children, veterans, and people with disabilities, leaving them with nowhere to turn for treatment for cancer or diabetes. According to new estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, roughly a million more people will lose health care coverage under the Senate-passed bill.
- Republicans will hike premiums through the roof for over 20 million Americans by eliminating tax credits that make health care affordable for middle-class families, small business owners, and rural Americans. Premiums will nearly double on average for 22 million Americans, and out-of-pocket costs will skyrocket for millions more, leaving 5 million additional Americans uninsured and unable to see a doctor when they need to.
- Republicans could shutter over 330 rural hospitals and 570 nursing homes across the country. The GOP bill will cut hundreds of billions in critical funding for hospitals and nursing homes, bury them under the burden of uncompensated care, and force hundreds to close their doors. Expectant mothers will be forced to travel further to get to the nearest maternity ward. Patients will have to travel hundreds of miles to get to an emergency room. Seniors will be forced to leave their nursing homes.
- Republicans will force at least 5.4 million more people into medical debt. Medical debt already affects 100 million people in America. 17 million people are expected to lose coverage due to GOP proposals and families losing coverage could see their medical debt increase as much as $22,280. American medical debt is expected to skyrocket by 15 percent, resulting in an additional $50 billion of medical debt.