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“Senator Cornyn should immediately apologize to these families for trying to deceive them”

Washington, DC — In the latest outlandish lie to cover up their health care repeal and lawsuit, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) blatantly fabricated an utterly false defense of the Republican opposition to protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Every reputable source has made clear that Republicans’ health care repeal agenda and their lawsuit to overturn health care would gut protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Protect Our Care chair Leslie Dach issued the following statement in response: 

“This outrageous lie about pre-existing conditions is an insult to everyone with a pre-existing condition or a family member with asthma, diabetes, cancer or other diseases. Republicans in Washington like Senator Cornyn have voted repeatedly to repeal protections for pre-existing conditions, and the Trump administration is currently in court to do what they failed to do in Congress. Every one of the bills that Republicans say protected people, did not. Senator Cornyn knows the truth and so do the American people.

“Senator Cornyn should immediately apologize to these families for trying to deceive them. No one facing a serious or chronic illness should be lied to by their public officials. They deserve better.” 

THE LIE:

THE FACTS:

IN THEIR OWN WORDS: KEY STAKEHOLDERS OPPOSE REPUBLICAN EFFORTS TO OVERTURN PRE-EXISTING CONDITION PROTECTIONS

American Cancer Society And Other Leading Patient Groups: Striking Down ACA Provisions Would Be “Catastrophic And Have Dire Consequences For Many Patients With Serious Illnesses.” “If either the plaintiffs’ or the administration’s position were adopted by the court, people with serious illness are likely to be denied coverage due to their preexisting conditions or charged such high premiums because of their health status that they will be unable to afford any coverage that may be offered. Without access to comprehensive coverage, patients will be forced to delay, skip, or forego care. Striking down these provisions would be catastrophic and have dire consequences for many patients with serious illnesses.” [American Cancer Society et. al, 6/14/18]

American Medical Association And Other Key Health Care Groups: “​Invalidating The Guaranteed-Issue And Community Rating Provisions—Or The ​Entire A​CA—Would Have A Devastating Impact On Doctors, Patients, And The American Health Care System As A Whole.” “The ACA’s ‘nationwide protections for Americans with pre-existing health conditions’ has played a ‘key role’ in allowing 3.6 million people to obtain affordable health insurance. Severing those vital insurance reforms would leave millions without much-needed insurance.” [AMA et. al, 6/14/18]

33 Leading Cancer Organizations Spoke Out Against GOP Repeal Bills: “The Senate’s BCRA, Just As The House’s AHCA, Is A Direct Threat To America’s 16 Million Cancer Patients And Survivors Who Rely On Timely And Uninterrupted Access To Comprehensive And Affordable Health Care.” “‘The Senate’s BCRA, just as the House’s AHCA, is a direct threat to America’s 16 million cancer patients and survivors who rely on timely and uninterrupted access to comprehensive and affordable health care,’ said NCCS CEO Shelley Fuld Nasso.” [NCSS, 7/13/17]

Washington, DC – On July 28, 2017 at 1:40 am, a bipartisan majority in the United States Senate gave a thumbs down to President Trump’s top legislative priority: repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Sunday marks the two year anniversary of this fateful vote, and today, health care is still the number one issue on voters’ minds. Last year, the Trump administration backed a lawsuit that goes even further than the Senate repeal bill, and would upend the entire health care system, ripping coverage from 20 million Americans, taking away protections for 130 million Americans with a pre-existing condition and raising costs across the board. 

Watch Protect Our Care’s video on the anniversary here

To mark the two year anniversary of Republicans’ failed health care repeal effort, Protect Our Care chair Leslie Dach issued the following statement: 

“The stinging defeat of his health care repeal bill in the Senate may be one of the most irritating moments of Donald Trump’s presidency, but it didn’t stop him and his Republican allies from doubling down on his health care sabotage agenda. Two years after the ‘thumbs down’ vote on the Senate floor, Trump remains hell bent on repeal, going to court and telling his appointees to do what he could not do in Congress: destroy America’s health care. And Republicans in the House and the Senate are his willing allies, refusing to condemn the Texas lawsuit and voting on party lines against any and all meaningful efforts to reduce costs and improve care.” 

In light of this anniversary, and the GOP’s ongoing war on health care, Protect Our Care’s state teams are targeting House and Senate Republicans across the country with events, protests, tweet storms, email campaigns and other earned media and grassroots tactics this week for their ongoing support of repealing American health care.

BACKGROUND: 

If the Trump-Republican lawsuit to destroy health care is successful:

• GONE: Protections for 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions. The uninsured rate will increase by 65 percent.
• GONE: Medicaid expansion, which covers 17 million people.
• GONE: Nearly 12 million seniors will have to pay more for prescription drugs because the Medicare ‘donut hole’ will be reopened.
• GONE: 2.3 million adult children will no longer be able to stay on their parents’ insurance.
• GONE: Insurance companies will be able to charge women 50 percent more than men.
• GONE: Financial assistance that helps 9 million people purchase health care in the marketplace.
• GONE: Key support for rural hospitals. As Americans lose coverage, already struggling hospitals will be hit even harder as their costs increase.
• GONE: Ban on insurance companies having lifetime caps on coverage.
• GONE: Requirements that insurance companies cover prescription drugs and maternity care.

Washington, DC — During today’s Senate Finance Committee markup of its drug pricing package, every Republican on the Committee voted against the amendment introduced by Senate Democrats to require Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices. In response, Protect Our Care chair Leslie Dach issued the following statement: 

“Senate Republicans on the Finance Committee refused today to take meaningful action to lower the cost of prescription drugs and voted down a Democratic amendment allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices. Shamefully, every single one of them refused to stand up to the drug lobby. If Republicans were actually serious about reducing the cost of prescription drugs, they would have supported this amendment. Nearly nine out of ten Americans support requiring Medicare to negotiate for lower drug costs, yet instead of doing what the American people have made clear they want, Republicans shot down the single most effective measure to lower drug prices.”

Washington, DC — Today, the Senate Finance Committee introduced a package that aims to address the cost of prescription drugs, yet does not include negotiating power for Medicare. Protect Our Care chair Leslie Dach issued the following statement in response:

“The Senate Finance Committee’s package to address the rising cost of prescription drugs fails to include the one policy that would have the biggest impact: requiring Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs for all consumers – a policy favored by nearly nine in ten Americans and 86 percent of Iowans in Chairman Grassley’s own backyard.”  

BACKGROUND:

PPP Poll: In advance of the Senate Finance Committee considering legislation on prescription drugs, a new Public Policy Polling survey in Iowa—home state of Chairman Chuck Grassley— finds that an overwhelming majority (86%) of Iowa voters support legislation to allow Medicare to negotiate with drug companies to get lower prices for prescription drugs for consumers, with only 5% in opposition.

• This includes 83% of Iowa Republicans and 81% of Iowans who voted for President Trump in 2016, with only 9% and 8% respectively opposing such legislation. 
• A further 75% of Iowans disagree with Senator Grassley’s opposition to this legislation, with only 11% of Iowa voters agreeing with him. A majority of Republicans (62-16) and President Trump’s 2016 supporters (62-17) also disagree with Senator Grassley’s opposition to Medicare drug negotiations.

Washington, DC — President Trump heads to Greenville, North Carolina for a rally today, just one week after his lawyers were in court arguing in favor of the destruction of American health care in Texas v. United States. The Trump-Texas lawsuit put over 500,000 North Carolinians at risk of losing coverage and would strip protections from nearly four million North Carolinians with a pre-existing condition. Ahead of Trump’s rally, Protect Our Care executive director Brad Woodhouse released the following statement:

“President Trump needs to explain to every North Carolina family why he went to court last week to overturn America’s health care laws, strike down protections for people with pre-existing conditions and strip coverage from millions. Trump’s lawsuit would raise health care premiums for families who can’t afford it and raise prescription drug costs for North Carolinians who have to choose between pills and rent, all with the support of Senator Tillis. Voters in North Carolina and across the country know that scoring cheap political points at a rally does not make up for trying to rip their health care away.”

BACKGROUND:

If Trump Gets His Way, 503,000 North Carolinians Would Lose Their Coverage

• 503,000 North Carolinians could lose coverage. According to the Urban Institute, 503,000 North Carolinians would lose coverage by repealing the Affordable Care Act, leading to a 43 percent increase in the uninsured rate.
• 70,000 North Carolina young adults with their parents’ coverage could lose care. Because of the Affordable Care Act, millions of young adults are able to stay on their parents’ care until age 26.
• North Carolinians would lose important federal health care funding — an estimated reduction of $4.6 billion in the first year. The Urban Institute estimates that a full repeal of the ACA would reduce federal spending on North Carolinians’ Medicaid/CHIP care and Marketplace subsidies by $4.6 billion, or 30.3 percent in the first year.

If Trump Gets His Way, Insurance Companies Would Be Put Back In Charge, Ending Protections For The 130 Million People Nationwide With A Pre-Existing Condition

According to a recent analysis by the Center for American Progress, roughly half of nonelderly Americans, or as many as 130 million people, have a pre-existing condition. This includes:

• • 44 million people who have high blood pressure
  • 45 million people who have behavioral health disorders
  • 44 million people who have high cholesterol
  • 34 million people who have asthma and chronic lung disease
  • 34 million people who have osteoarthritis and other joint disorders
•  3,929,400 North Carolinians have a pre-existing condition, including 544,200 North Carolina children, 2,122,000 North Carolina women, and 803,300 North Carolinians between ages 55 and 64. 

If Trump Gets His Way, Insurance Companies Would Have The Power To Deny, Drop Coverage, And Charge More Because Of A Pre-Existing Condition

Before the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies routinely denied people coverage because of a pre-existing condition or canceled coverage when a person got sick. If the Trump-GOP lawsuit is successful, insurance companies will be able to do this again.

• A 2010 congressional report found that the top four health insurance companies denied coverage to one in seven consumers on the individual market over a three year period.
• A 2009 congressional report found that the largest insurance companies had retroactively canceled coverage for 20,000 people over the previous five year period.
• An analysis by Avalere finds that “102 million individuals, not enrolled in major public programs like Medicaid or Medicare, have a pre-existing medical condition and could therefore face higher premiums or significant out-of-pocket costs” if the Trump-GOP lawsuit is successful.

If Trump Gets His Way, Insurance Companies Would Have The Power To Charge You More, While Their Profits Soar

• 3,966,308 North Carolinians Could Once Again Have To Pay For Preventive Care. Because of the ACA, health plans must cover preventive services — like flu shots, cancer screenings, contraception, and mammograms – at no cost to consumers. This includes nearly 3,966,308 North Carolinians, most of whom have employer coverage.
• Insurance Companies Could Charge Premium Surcharges in the Six Figures. If the Trump-GOP lawsuit is successful, insurance companies would be able to charge people more because of a pre-existing condition. The health repeal bill the House passed in 2017 had a similar provision, and an analysis by the Center for American Progress found that insurers could charge up to $4,270 more for asthma, $17,060 more for pregnancy, $26,180 more for rheumatoid arthritis and $140,510 more for metastatic cancer.
• Women Could Be Charged More Than Men for the Same Coverage. Prior to the ACA, women were often charged premiums on the nongroup market of up to 50 percent higher than they charged men for the same coverage. 
• People Over the Age of 50 Could Face a $4,000 “Age Tax,” Including $5,720 in North Carolina. Because Judge O’Connor sided with Republican lawmakers, insurance companies would be able to charge people over 50 more than younger people. The Affordable Care Act limited the amount older people could be charged to three times more than younger people. If insurers were to charge five times more, as was proposed in the Republican repeal bills, that would add an average “age tax” of $4,124 for a 60-year-old in the individual market, including $5,720 in North Carolina, according to the AARP.
•  426,014 North Carolinians in the Marketplaces Would Pay More for Coverage. If the Trump-GOP lawsuit is successful, consumers would no longer have access to tax credits that help them pay their marketplace premiums, meaning roughly nine million people who receive these tax credits to pay for coverage will have to pay more, including 426,014 in North Carolina.
• 165,931 North Carolina Seniors Could Have to Pay More for Prescription Drugs. If the Trump-GOP lawsuit is successful, seniors could have to pay more for prescription drugs because the Medicare “donut” hole would be reopened. From 2010 to 2016, “More than 11.8 million Medicare beneficiaries have received discounts over $26.8 billion on prescription drugs – an average of $2,272 per beneficiary,” according to a January 2017 CMS report. In North Carolina, 165,931 seniors each saved an average of $1,117.

If Trump Gets His Way, Insurance Companies Would Have the Power to Limit the Care You Get, Even If You Have Insurance Through Your Employer

• Insurance Companies Do Not Have to Provide the Coverage You Need. The Affordable Care Act made comprehensive coverage more available by requiring insurance companies to include “essential health benefits” in their plans, such as maternity care, hospitalization, substance abuse care and prescription drug coverage. Before the ACA, people had to pay extra for separate coverage for these benefits. For example, in 2013, 75 percent of non-group plans did not cover maternity care, 45 percent did not cover substance abuse disorder services, and 38 percent did not cover mental health services. Six percent did not even cover generic drugs.
• Reinstate Lifetime and Annual Limits On 3,091,000 Privately Insured North Carolinians. Repealing the Affordable Care Act means insurance companies would be able to impose annual and lifetime limits on coverage for those insured through their employer or on the individual market.
• Large Employers Could Choose to Follow Any State’s Guidance, Enabling Them Put Annual and Lifetime Limits on Their Employees’ Health Care. Without the ACA’s definition of essential health benefits (EHB) in even some states, states could eliminate them altogether. Large employers could choose to apply any state’s standard, making state regulations essentially meaningless. Because the prohibition on annual and lifetime limits only applies to essential health benefits, this change would allow employers to reinstate annual and lifetime limits on their employees’ coverage.

If Trump Gets His Way, Medicaid Expansion Would Be Repealed

• 692,000 North Carolinians who could gain coverage if North Carolina were to expand Medicaid will be denied that possibility. By not fully expanding Medicaid, North Carolina has restricted its Medicaid program, preventing 692,000 residents from gaining coverage.
• Access To Treatment Would Be In Jeopardy For 800,000 People With Opioid Use Disorder. Roughly four in ten, or 800,000 people with an opioid use disorder are enrolled in Medicaid. Many became eligible through Medicaid expansion.
• Key Support For Rural Hospitals Would Disappear, leaving North Carolina hospitals with $1.1 billion more in uncompensated care. 

As President Trump takes the stage in North Carolina tomorrow night, the record of one of his worst enablers in his war on health care, Senator Thom Tillis, will be on full display. Since he was elected in 2014, Tillis has endorsed and voted for the Trump/GOP repeal and sabotage agenda of fully repealing the Affordable Care Act, gutting protections for people with pre-existing conditions, increasing premiums and prescription drug costs, and slashing funding for Medicare and Medicaid. His record is clear: when it comes to health care, Thom Tillis puts the Trump repeal and sabotage agenda above the well-being of every North Carolinian.

Tillis Supports Repealing The ACA And Its Protections For 3.9 Million North Carolinians with Pre-Existing Conditions

2014: Tillis Said Repealing The ACA Was One Of His Top Priorities In The Senate. “A day after his win over Kay Hagan, Republican Thom Tillis is talking about what he wants to get done in Washington. Tillis spoke about the committee he wants to serve on and his plan to try and repeal Obamacare. Tillis met reporters at Cornelius Town Hall on Wednesday and spoke about reaching out to Democrats. ‘I think we should start by finding bipartisan opportunities to move for on the legislative agenda,’ Tillis said. On bills dealing with jobs and the economy, and the proposed oil pipeline from Canada to Texas, Tillis says Democratic leadership stalled in the Senate. He also vowed to fulfill a campaign promise — reversing Obamacare. The president would veto any bill to repeal it, but Tillis said there are other tactics. ‘Take a look at things we can delay like the employer mandates. Other things, if we can delay them or replace them with something more sustainable, that’s what we need to focus on,’ Tillis said.” [WSOC, 11/5/14] 

2015:  Tillis Voted To Repeal Most Of The ACA.  Tillis voted for legislation that gutted the Affordable Care Act by eliminating the insurance exchanges and subsidies, and repealing the Medicaid expansion accepted by 30 states.  [HR 3762, Roll Call Vote #114, 12/3/15] 

2017:  Tillis Voted For The Senate “Repeal And Delay” Plan.  Tillis voted for Obamacare Repeal and Replacement Act was a Republican effort to repeal the ACA without a replacement.  Known as “repeal and delay,” the bill repealed major sections of the ACA, including the Medicaid expansion and premium tax credits, in 2020.  [HR 1628, Roll Call Vote #169, 7/26/17] 

• If Repeal and Delay became law, 32 million fewer people would have health insurance by 2026. 18 million Americans would lose health coverage just in the first year after repeal. 
• Health insurance premiums would double for those in the individual market.

2017: Tillis Voted For The Better Care Reconciliation Act.  Tillis voted for the Better Care Reconciliation Act, which repealed and replaced the ACA.  [HR 1628, Roll Call Vote #168, 7/25/17] 

• BCRA would have eliminated coverage for 15 million Americans in 2018.
• The bill gutted Medicaid by more than $2 trillion over the next two decades and eliminated Medicaid expansion. 
• Individual premiums would have increased 20 percent in 2018 and comprehensive coverage would become “extremely expensive” in some markets. 

2017:  Tillis Voted For “Skinny Repeal” Of The ACA. Tillis voted for “Skinny Repeal” of the ACA, which repealed the individual mandate and delayed the employer mandate while leaving most of the rest of the law in place.  [HR 1628, Roll Call Vote #179, 7/28/17] 

According To The CBO, Skinny Repeal Would Have Resulted In The Largest Coverage Loss in American History: 

• • At minimum, 15 million Americans would lose coverage in 2018.  This would have been the biggest one-year increase in our nation’s history. 
  • Premiums would go up by roughly 20 percent 

Tillis Has Voted To Slash Medicare and Medicaid

2017: Tillis Voted To Cut Medicare By $473 Billion.  Tillis voted for the FY 2018 budget resolution, which included $473 billion in cuts to Medicare over 10 years. [H Con Res 71, Vote #245, 10/19/17; Vox, 10/26/17] 

2017: Tillis Voted To Slash $1.3 Trillion From Medicaid.  Tillist voted for the FY 2018 budget resolution, which cut funding for non-Medicare health programs, most notably Medicaid, by 1.3 trillion, a 20 percent cut over the course of 10 years, increasing to a 29.3 percent cut by 2027.  [H Con Res 71, Vote #245, 10/19/17; Vox, 10/26/17] 

2013: Tillis Supported Legislation To Block North Carolina From Expanding Medicaid.  “Gov. Pat McCrory is backing a move by the legislature to block the state from expanding its Medicaid program or participating in the state health insurance exchanges created by the federal Affordable Care Act. […] House Speaker Thom Tillis expressed similar thoughts during a morning news conference, saying the bill is ‘setting the tone’ for how North Carolina funds Medicaid in the future. ‘Before we have a discussion about really increasing the funding to Medicaid, we need to make sure that the process we’re putting it into is going to make it more likely that those dollars are going to people who need help versus just being churned through an inefficient and wasteful department,’ he said. ‘This (bill) puts the emphasis back on fixing Medicaid,’ Tillis added.” [WRAL, 2/12/13] 

Washington, DC — Yesterday, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) introduced the Emergency Access to Insulin Act of 2019, a bill that would speed up the availability of insulin and drive down costs for the 7.5 million Americans with diabetes who rely on the medication to survive. Protect Our Care chair Leslie Dach issued the following in response:

“Senator Smith’s legislation takes much-needed action to hold drug manufacturers accountable for predatory price gouging while promoting market competition to drive down the price of insulin. While drug companies continue to raise prices on life-saving drugs just to line their pockets, Senator Smith and her Democratic colleagues continue to fight for the lower costs and better care that every American deserves.” 

Days after the Trump administration argued to destroy our health care in court, the White House is hosting a pep rally today with conservative organizations like the Heritage Foundation, Americans for Tax Reform, the American Conservative Union and the National Taxpayers Union; leading architects of destroying American health care. All of these organizations have worked overtime to repeal the health care law, ripping coverage away from millions of Americans and stripping protections for those with pre-existing conditions. And these are the groups Americans are supposed to trust with the future of their health care if the court throws out the health care law? Give us a break.

GOP Health Care Repeal Would Have Raised Health Care Costs, Especially For Older Americans

Raise Premiums By Double Digits. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that a key part of the American Health Care Act, repealing the requirement that most people have health insurance and was enacted as part of the GOP tax bill, will raise premiums 10 percent in the first year.

Impose An Age Tax – Older Americans Pay Nearly $12,000 More. The American Health Care Act would have imposed what the AARP calls an “age tax” on older Americans by cutting the amount of assistance older people receive and by allowing insurers to charge people over 50 five times more. Nationally, out-of-pocket costs for older people could have increased by as much as $11,917 by 2026. 

Surcharge For People With Pre-Existing Conditions. The American Health Care Act would have allowed states to eliminate community rating, meaning insurers would be able to charge people with pre-existing conditions more. This surcharge could have been in the tens of thousands of dollars and even six figures: up to $4,270 for asthma, $17,060 for pregnancy, $26,180 for rheumatoid arthritis and $140,510 for metastatic cancer.

Health Care Repeal Would Have Caused Millions of Americans To Lose Coverage 

23 Million Would Have Lost Coverage. By 2026, 23 million U.S. residents would have lost coverage under this bill. 

14 Million With Medicaid Would Have Lost Coverage. Under the American Health Care Act, 14 million with Medicaid would have lost their coverage by 2026. 

441,300 U.S. Veterans Would Have Lost Coverage. Under the American Health Care Act, 441,400 veterans would have lost their Medicaid coverage nationally.

GOP Health Care Repeal Would Have Meant Weaker Protections For Americans

52 Million Americans Have A Pre-Existing Condition, And Were At Risk For Paying More. The American Health Care Act would have weakened key protections of the Affordable Care Act by allowing states to let insurers charge 52 million Americans with pre-existing conditions more, among other provisions. The bill would have made it more likely insurers would cherrypick young and healthier people, causing costs to skyrocket for older, sicker people. 

Women’s Health Would Be In Jeopardy. The American Health Care Act would have blocked millions from accessing birth control, cancer screenings, and other basic health care at Planned Parenthood health centers, eliminated the guarantee of maternity coverage, and newborn care, and allowed insurers to discriminate against women.

GOP Health Care Repeal Would Have Ended Medicaid As We Know It 

Medicaid Would Have Been Slashed By $839 Billion. The American Health Care Act would have ended Medicaid as we know it, a 50 year old program that helps seniors, children, people with disabilities and other vulnerable populations get the care they need. It would have slashed Medicaid by $839 billion, ended the funding needed to expand Medicaid, and converted the program into a “per capita cap”, thus ending guaranteed coverage for everyone who has it. As a result, the Republican repeal bill put the health of 77 million, or one in five Americans, who count on Medicaid in grave danger. These cuts would have strained state budgets and undermined efforts to combat the opioid crisis.

GOP Health Care Repeal Would Have Cut Health Care To Give Tax Breaks To The Rich

• CNN Money: Republican health care plan has a big tax break for execs’ pay [3/7/17]
• Buzzfeed: The Republican Health Care Plan Includes A Tax Break For Insurance CEOs [3/6/17]