The regular Kaiser Family Health Tracking Poll today gives another post-election confirmation that Republicans repeal and sabotage agenda for health care has been rejected by the American people.
See for yourself.
Four Key Points:
The Affordable Care Act is viewed favorably by 53 percent of people – a 13 point margin. It’s the largest level of support for the ACA since after the 2010 election.
87 percent of people said it’s important (65 percent very important) to protect prohibitions against health insurance companies denying coverage because of people’s medical history.
If Trump’s lawsuit to overturn protections for people with pre-existing conditions succeeds, 70 percent of people want their state to re-establish the protections.
For people who live in states that haven’t yet expanded Medicaid, 59 percent of people support expansion and only 34 percent oppose it.
Washington DC — In a statement released on Monday by members of the Problem Solvers, a caucus of nine House Democrats outlined its threat to withhold support for Leader Pelosi’s nomination for Speaker. The caucus stated its proposals would “help spur immediate action on health care, immigration and infrastructure.” Leslie Dach, chair of Protect Our Care issued the following statement:
“The way to protect and improve health care isn’t by making demands that were drawn up by a group that includes Republicans who voted to repeal health care — many of whom were defeated by Democrats just a few weeks ago. The way to truly protect and improve health care is by placing the Member of Congress whose leadership gave us the Affordable Care Act and led the blue wave that will protect us going forward in the Speaker’s chair. Let’s take the fight to the opponents of affordable health care — not its champions.”
Washington, D.C. – Last week health care delivered a Democratic wave, giving Democrats control of the House of Representatives, flipping more than 30 House seats, two Senate seats and electing seven health care champions as governor, while Medicaid expansion was handily approved in three conservative states. As the Mississippi Senate race goes to a run-off, Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care, released the following statement:
“When not making racially incendiary remarks, Cindy Hyde-Smith is plotting to take away Mississippians’ health care. Since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, 147,000 Mississippians have gained coverage and the uninsured rate has fallen twenty-seven percent, with the uninsured rate for children falling more than fifty percent. But despite these gains in a state that ranks 50th in overall health, Cindy Hyde-Smith not only refuses to support Medicaid expansion, which would extend coverage to 300,000 Mississippians, but continues to call for repeal of the ACA. It’s unconscionable. How much longer must Mississippians suffer due to the Republican war on health care?”
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Mississippi Ranks 50th In Overall Health. “Mississippi ranks 50th for the second year in a row in the United Health Foundation’s health rankings. The foundation specializes in clinical expertise and health data, focused on making the country healthier. The report cites the state’s challenges with obesity, children in poverty and high rate of cardiovascular deaths as integral to the last-place ranking. Specifically, Mississippi also ranks last place for women’s and children’s health, as well as senior health. The report assesses not only health outcomes but also access to medical care. The report shows that Mississippi ranks in the bottom 10 states for dentists, mental-health providers and primary-care physicians.” [Jackson Free Press, 12/14/17]
Cindy Hyde-Smith: “Believes The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act, Better Known As Obamacare, Should Be Repealed.” “Senator Hyde-Smith supports common-sense, patient-centered healthcare reforms to help Mississippi families afford health insurance coverage without expanding the government’s role in providing health care. She believes the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, should be repealed.” [HydeSmith.Senate.Gov, accessed 11/13/18]
Mike Espy Has Made Health Care A Priority In His Campaign. “In winning control of the House last week, Democrats focused on health care and in particular, protecting insurance coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. The provision is perhaps the most popular part of the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. Espy has also made the issue a priority. On Friday, the campaign asked people to share stories related to health care. In a statement that day, Espy said: ‘I’ll stand up for everyone with pre-existing conditions, defend Medicare and take on the drug companies to make sure prescription drugs are affordable.’ Hyde-Smith supports repealing and replacing Obamacare.” [CNBC, 11/12/18]
Mike Espy: “Will Protect And Defend The Parts Of Our Health System That Currently Are Under Attack, Such As For People With Pre-Existing Conditions.” “Mike Espy will protect and defend the parts of our health system that currently are under attack, such as for people with pre-existing conditions. He believes strongly in increasing access for Mississippians to treatment programs to fight the current epidemic of opioid and substance abuse. He believes that Mississippians should have full access to the services and programs that are available to many other Americans through expanded funding of Medicaid and CHIP.” [Espy for Senate, accessed 11/13/18
Washington DC – Tonight, health care champion Senator Joe Donnelly will debate Mike Braun, a pro-repeal and sabotage Republican who has been concealing his true record from voters in recent weeks. Ahead of the debate, Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care, issued the following statement:
“Tonight’s debate will put on full display what many Hoosiers already are coming to know: just like Mike Braun’s skimpy health insurance for his employees made health care too expensive for too many, Mike Braun has no plan at all for protecting health care, including for those with pre-existing conditions, or making health care more affordable. Like many Republicans this cycle, Mike Braun seems to think he can skate to victory by lying to voters, but his lies will backfire just like his numerous calls to ‘fully repeal’ the Affordable Care Act and its protections for pre-existing conditions have. The truth is simple: Mike Braun would be another vote to roll back health care for tens of millions Americans if elected to the Senate.”
Additional Background:
BRAUN’S BEEN LYING TO VOTERS ABOUT HEALTH CARE
Braun Said He Supports A Plan To “Cover Pre-Existing Conditions, No Cap On Coverage, And Affordable.” “In a phone call this week, Braun says if he wins, he will support ACA repeal efforts, but preserve some of the most popular parts of the plan in a replacement. ‘The key part of it has to be: cover pre-existing conditions, no cap on coverage, and affordable,’ says Braun.” [WFYI, 10/25/18]
IN REALITY, BRAUN HAS PLEDGED TO “REPEAL AND REPLACE EVERY WORD” OF ACA, INCLUDING PROTECTIONS FOR PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS
Braun, June 2018: I Will “Fully Repeal” Obamacare. “In the Senate, I will use my business experience and work with President Trump to fully repeal Obamacare and implement free-market solutions that will provide better healthcare for Hoosiers.” [City-County Observer, 7/26/18]
On the subject of the ACA, his website reads, “There is no repairing this broken law; the only option is to repeal and replace every word and regulation.” [Braun For Indiana, Accessed 8/14/18]
Mike Braun Supports The Trump-GOP Lawsuit That Would Gut the ACA Entirey, Including Pre-existing Conditions Protections: “Sure, Anything That’s Going To Actually Get Rid Of It, Yes.” “‘Sure, anything that’s going to actually get rid of it, yes,’ said Indiana GOP Senate nominee Mike Braun of the GOP lawsuit to gut the law in an interview in Mishawaka.” [Politico, 8/17/18]. If this lawsuit is successful, millions of Hoosiers stand to lose, including:
2,745,700 Hoosiers Living With A Pre-Existing Condition. About one in two Hoosiers, 50 percent, lives with a pre-existing condition. [CAP, 4/5/17]
1,382,000 Indiana Women And Girls With A Pre-Existing Condition. Approximately 1,382,000 women and girls in Indiana live with a pre-existing condition. [CAP & National Partnership For Women and Families,June 2018]
377,100 Indiana Children With A Pre-Existing Condition. Roughly 377,000 Hoosiers below age 18 live with a pre-existing condition. [CAP, 4/5/17]
643,800 Older Hoosiers Living With A Pre-Existing Condition. 643,800 Indiana adults between the ages of 55 and 64 live with at least one pre-existing condition, meaning attacks on these protections significantly threaten Hoosiers approaching Medicare age. [CAP, 4/5/17]
Washington DC — Tonight in Wausau, health care champion, Senator Tammy Baldwin will debate Leah Vukmir, a repeal crusader who supports ending protections for people with pre-existing conditions for the second time. Tonight’s debate will confirm what Wisconsinites already know, Leah Vukmir’s career as a nurse cannot conceal her extreme positions on health care and multiple attempts to block Medicaid expansion in Wisconsin. Ahead of the debate, Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care, issued the following statement:
“Let’s be clear, Leah Vukmir will not defend Wisconsinites’ health care. Although Vukmir claims she supports keeping protections for people with pre-existing conditions, she has turned her back on Wisconsinites at every opportunity to do so. Whether it’s supporting the Trump-GOP lead lawsuit to gut protections for pre-existing conditions, refusing to take action at the state level against the Trump administration’s junk plan rule or opposing Medicaid expansion, Leah Vukmir’s extreme views would be a disaster for the health care of Wisconsinites.”
Vukmir Supports Repealing The ACA And Its Protections For 2.4 Million Wisconsinites with Pre-Existing Conditions
Vukmir “Supports Full Repeal Of Obamacare. Period.” “Leah understands why people are upset with Republicans who promised to repeal Obamacare and didn’t deliver. She supports full repeal of Obamacare. Period. And she won’t stop pushing for full repeal in Congress.” [LeahVukmir.com, accessed 6/12/18]
Though Leah Vukmir claims she supports protections for people with pre-existing conditions, saying “patients with pre-existing conditions should be covered,” she has turned her back on Wisconsinites at every opportunity to do so.
Vukmir refuses to stand against a lawsuit designed to end protections for people with pre-existing conditions. This summer, the Trump Administration refused to defend against a lawsuit brought by twenty conservative states aimed at overturning the Affordable Care Act and its protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Leah Vukmir refuses to speak against this lawsuit, instead calling it a “necessary step.”
Vukmir refuses to take action at the state level against the Trump administration’s junk plan and association plan rules that let insurance companies discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions. This summer, the Trump Administration finalized a junk plan rule and an association plan rule that allow insurance companies to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions. Experts warn that these moves will only increase the cost of comprehensive care, ultimately making it even harder for people with pre-existing conditions to get the care they need. Twenty-one states have taken or are taking action to limit the harmful effects of these junk plans, but Vukmir refuses to do the same for Wisconsin.
Vukmir Supported Scott Walker’s Plan To Convert All Health Care Programs To Block Grants: “A Successful Repeal Of Obamacare Begins With The Federal Government Handing Over The Reins To The States.” “State Sen. Leah Vukmir, R–Brookfield, Tuesday endorsed Gov. Scott Walker’s request of the White House and Congress to send states block grants, giving them full responsibility for health care programs. ‘Healthcare is very personal,’ said Vukmir, chairman of the Senate Health & Human Services Committee. ‘That’s why those closest to our constituents, not Washington bureaucrats, should be responsible for tailoring our programs to fit Wisconsin’s needs. A successful repeal of Obamacare begins with the federal government handing over the reins to the states.’” [State Senator Leah Vukmir Press Release, 8/22/17]
Converting health care programs to block grants was the core of what the Graham-Cassidy repeal bill would have done. Multipleindependentanalyses agreed that the Graham-Cassidy repeal bill would have cut federal funding to states including a $29 billion cut over two decades to Wisconsin.
Vukmir Is Hostile Towards Medicaid
Vukmir “Would Support Efforts To Send Medicaid Dollars To States In The Form Of A Block Grant.” “Finally, Leah knows from her experience dealing with Wisconsin’s Medicaid program that states truly are laboratories of innovation, which is what our founders intended. Leah supports more flexibility for states when it comes to Medicaid spending, and would support efforts to send Medicaid dollars to states in the form of a block grant – allowing states more flexibility to design their own plans and save taxpayers billions of dollars.” [LeahVukmir.com, accessed 6/12/18]
The Graham-Cassidy bill would have enacted Vukmir’s plan to convert Medicaid into a block grant, meaning the 1,037,795 Wisconsinites who are enrolled on Medicaid would have their care jeopardized. Medicaid disproportionately helps children, seniors in nursing home care and people with disabilities. A study by Avalere found that a Graham-Cassidy-style plan would cut funding for people with disabilities by 15-percent and 31-percent for children by 2036.
Vukmir Opposed Medicaid Expansion In Wisconsin. “State Sen. Leah Vukmir, R–Brookfield, issued the following statement Friday after seeing recent news reports from states that accepted Medicaid expansion dollars and are now facing major problems with their budgets: ‘Recent reports from states across the U.S. are confirming our prior expectations, proving what we’ve known all along: Increased expansion is not financially feasible.” [State Senator Leah Vukmir Press Release, 4/22/16]
Medicaid is not only a lifeline for over one million Wisconsinites, it strengthens our communities and is supported by 74 percent of Americans. By not fully expanding Medicaid, Wisconsin has restricted its Medicaid program such that only Residents earning up to 100 percent of the federal poverty line are eligible to enroll in Medicaid. If Wisconsin expanded its program, 119,000 more adults could gain coverage through Medicaid.
Vukmir Supports Drug Testing For Medicaid Recipients. “Gov. Scott Walker wants to make Wisconsin the first state in the country to require able-bodied, childless adults applying for Medicaid health benefits to undergo drug screening, a move that could serve as a national model. […] Republican backer, Sen. Leah Vukmir, defended the approach, saying: ‘We know what to do. We know how to take care of our own.’” [Associated Press, 5/25/17]
Scheduled Site Maintenance During Open Enrollment Period is Latest Act of Trump-GOP Health Care Sabotage
Washington, D.C. – The upcoming open enrollment period will share certain features of last year’s: a drastically shortened schedule, deep cuts to marketing and outreach budgets, and – according to media reports from today – the Trump administration will again be shutting down HealthCare.gov on the first day of open enrollment, as well as five out of the six Sundays during the upcoming open enrollment period (November 1, 2018 through December 15, 2018). In total, HealthCare.gov – which is used by millions of people in 38 states – will be down for more than three full days during a truncated open enrollment period. In response, Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care, issued the following statement:
“There can be no doubt that the Trump Administration literally wants to stand in between people and the health care coverage they need, since they are once again purposely shutting down the website people need to use to sign up for coverage at the very time when they need it most. This cynical move comes after the Trump Administration cut the open enrollment period in half, slashed advertising by ninety percent, exacted drastic cuts to the Navigator program all while asking them to be mouthpieces for junk insurance plans. It’s shameful.”
HERE ARE ALL THE WAYS THE GOP HAS SABOTAGED OPEN ENROLLMENT
In July, the Trump Administration slashed funding for non-profit health navigator groups that help people shop for coverage, from $36 million to $10 million. CMS encourages groups to use the remaining funds to push people to sign up for junk plans that skirt important consumer protections.
In April, the Trump Administration limited access to assistance for consumers who want to enroll in marketplace coverage. This change removed the requirement that every area has at least two “navigator” groups to provide consumer assistance and that one be local. Now, just one group could cover entire states or groups of states.
In October 2017, The Trump Administration dramatically cut in-person assistance to help people sign up for 2018 health coverage.
Last September, the Administration ordered the Department of Health and Human Services’ regional directors to stop participating in Open Enrollment events. Mississippi Health Advocacy Program Executive Director Roy Mitchell said, “I didn’t call it sabotage…But that’s what it is.”
Last August, the Administration cut the outreach advertising budget for Open Enrollment by 90 percent, from $100 million to just $10 million.
Last July,the Trump Administration used funding intended to support health insurance enrollment to launch a multimedia propaganda campaign against the Affordable Care Act.
In April 2017, the Trump Administration cut the number of days people could sign up for coverage during open enrollment by half, from 90 days to 45 days.
On Trump’s first day in office, the Department of Health and Human Services began to remove information on how to sign up for the Affordable Care Act.
Also in January 2017, the Trump Administration pulled funding for outreach and advertising for the final days of 2017 enrollment. This move is estimated to have reduced enrollment by nearly 500,000.
Washington DC — Tonight in Milwaukee, Leah Vukmir, a pro-repeal Republican who supports ending protections for people with pre-existing conditions will debate Senator Tammy Baldwin. Vukmir has earned the nickname ‘Nurse Ratched’ by fellow Republicans due to her extreme positions on health care and multiple attempts to block Medicaid expansion in Wisconsin. Ahead of the debate, Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care, issued the following statement:
“After years of attempting roll back protections for millions of Wisconsinites, Leah Vukmir is touting her experience as a nurse to try to convince us that her record on health care isn’t as bad as it is. But the truth is, in addition to supporting a full repeal the ACA, Vukmir wants to dismantle Medicaid and even voted against protections for Wisconsin kids whoneed cochlear implants. Vukmir’s record on health care is as extreme – far too extreme for Wisconsin – as it is cruel.”
Vukmir Supports Repealing The ACA And Its Protections For 2.4 Million Wisconsinites with Pre-Existing Conditions
Vukmir “Supports Full Repeal Of Obamacare. Period.” “Leah understands why people are upset with Republicans who promised to repeal Obamacare and didn’t deliver. She supports full repeal of Obamacare. Period. And she won’t stop pushing for full repeal in Congress.” [LeahVukmir.com, accessed 6/12/18]
What would full repeal of the Affordable Care Act mean for Wisconsin? ?
Elimination of protections for 2.4 million Wisconsinites with pre-existing conditions, if they buy coverage on their own
Elimination of improvements to Medicare, including reduced costs for prescription drugs
Ending allowing kids to stay on their parents’ insurance until age 26
Elimination of ban on annual and lifetime limits
Elimination of ban on insurance discrimination against women
Elimination of a limit on out-of-pocket costs
Elimination of the Medicaid expansion, currently covering 15 million people
Elimination of rules to hold insurance companies accountable
Elimination of small business tax credits
Elimination of marketplace tax credits and coverage for up to 215,000 Wisconsinites
Vukmir Supported Scott Walker’s Plan To Convert All Health Care Programs To Block Grants: “A Successful Repeal Of Obamacare Begins With The Federal Government Handing Over The Reins To The States.” “State Sen. Leah Vukmir, R–Brookfield, Tuesday endorsed Gov. Scott Walker’s request of the White House and Congress to send states block grants, giving them full responsibility for health care programs. ‘Healthcare is very personal,’ said Vukmir, chairman of the Senate Health & Human Services Committee. ‘That’s why those closest to our constituents, not Washington bureaucrats, should be responsible for tailoring our programs to fit Wisconsin’s needs. A successful repeal of Obamacare begins with the federal government handing over the reins to the states.’” [State Senator Leah Vukmir Press Release, 8/22/17]
Converting health care programs to block grants was the core of what the Graham-Cassidy repeal bill would have done. Multipleindependentanalyses agreed that the Graham-Cassidy repeal bill would have cut federal funding to states including a $29 billion cut over two decades to Wisconsin.
Vukmir Is Hostile Towards Medicaid
Vukmir “Would Support Efforts To Send Medicaid Dollars To States In The Form Of A Block Grant.” “Finally, Leah knows from her experience dealing with Wisconsin’s Medicaid program that states truly are laboratories of innovation, which is what our founders intended. Leah supports more flexibility for states when it comes to Medicaid spending, and would support efforts to send Medicaid dollars to states in the form of a block grant – allowing states more flexibility to design their own plans and save taxpayers billions of dollars.” [LeahVukmir.com, accessed 6/12/18]
The Graham-Cassidy bill would have enacted Vukmir’s plan to convert Medicaid into a block grant, meaning the 1,037,795 Wisconsinites who are enrolled on Medicaid would have their care jeopardized. Medicaid disproportionately helps children, seniors in nursing home care and people with disabilities. A study by Avalere found that a Graham-Cassidy-style plan would cut funding for people with disabilities by 15-percent and 31-percent for children by 2036.
Vukmir Opposed Medicaid Expansion In Wisconsin. “State Sen. Leah Vukmir, R–Brookfield, issued the following statement Friday after seeing recent news reports from states that accepted Medicaid expansion dollars and are now facing major problems with their budgets: ‘Recent reports from states across the U.S. are confirming our prior expectations, proving what we’ve known all along: Increased expansion is not financially feasible.” [State Senator Leah Vukmir Press Release, 4/22/16]
Medicaid is not only a lifeline for over one million Wisconsinites, it strengthens our communities and is supported by 74 percent of Americans. By not fully expanding Medicaid, Wisconsin has restricted its Medicaid program such that only Residents earning up to 100 percent of the federal poverty line are eligible to enroll in Medicaid. If Wisconsin expanded its program, 119,000 more adults could gain coverage through Medicaid.
Vukmir Supports Drug Testing For Medicaid Recipients. “Gov. Scott Walker wants to make Wisconsin the first state in the country to require able-bodied, childless adults applying for Medicaid health benefits to undergo drug screening, a move that could serve as a national model. […] Republican backer, Sen. Leah Vukmir, defended the approach, saying: ‘We know what to do. We know how to take care of our own.’” [Associated Press, 5/25/17]
Drug-testing Medicaid recipients hurts the people who need help the most. People with substance abuse disorders will be reluctant to disclose that they use drugs for fear of legal or medical retribution. Making it easier, rather than harder, for those who need substance abuse treatment to access that coverage through Medicaid will help combat the opioid crisis and halt the spread of conditions like HIV and Hepatitis which are spread via intravenous drug use. Drug tests are also a waste of state resources. One study from Florida found that of 4,086 applicants tested over four months, only 2.6 percent failed a drug test. Over four months, this testing regime cost the state $45,780.
Washington DC — At the Senate debate in Miami last night, Florida Governor Rick Scott joined his fellow Republicans and flat-out lied to voters about his record on health care. Scott’s shameful effort to re-write history continued as he explained his stance on universal health care coverage, stating that “we have to make sure that anybody can get health care insurance.” Let’s be clear, Rick Scott has no plans to protect millions of Floridians health care — his record speaks for itself.
Here’s the truth:
Rick Scott helped design Republican repeal efforts that would have jeopardized access to care for up to 7.8 million Floridians.
HEADLINE: “Florida’s Rick Scott Says He’s Helping Trump Craft Replacement Health Care Plan.” [McClatchy, 1/18/17]
Rick Scott Was An Advisor To The Trump Administration On Plans To Repeal The ACA. “ Kicking off a series of meetings with incoming Trump administration officials, Gov. Rick Scott said Wednesday he hopes to help them devise a less costly alternative to Obamacare. Scott said he’s talking with Donald Trump every week or two while working closely with Rep. Tom Price, the president-elect’s choice to run the government agency that oversees Medicaid, Medicare and the landmark 2010 health-insurance law.” [McClatchy, 1/18/17]
Rick Scott Continued To Push For Repeal Even After It Failed In The Senate. “Gov. Rick Scott, whose political career is largely defined by opposition to the Affordable Care Act, still wants Republicans to repeal the federal health care law despite their apparent failure to do so. ‘Floridians simply cannot afford the high taxes and mandates of Obamacare. This law needs to be repealed,’ Scott spokeswoman Kerri Wyland said in an emailed statement. […] Since November, Scott has written four op-eds stressing the urgency of repealing Obamacare. ‘There is absolutely no question that Obamacare must be repealed immediately so Americans can actually afford to purchase health insurance,’ Scott wrote.” [Orlando Sentinel, 7/18/17]
What would full repeal of the Affordable Care Act get eliminate?
Protections for 7,810,300 with pre-existing conditions, if they buy coverage on their own
Improvements to Medicare, including reduced costs for prescription drugs
Allowing kids to stay on their parents’ insurance until age 26
Ban on annual and lifetime limits
Ban on insurance discrimination against women
Limit on out-of-pocket costs
Medicaid expansion currently covering 15 million people
Rules to hold insurance companies accountable
Small business tax credits
Marketplace tax credits and coverage for up to 1.4 million Floridians.
For years Rick Scott and the Republican majority in the Florida legislature have refused to expand Medicaid to cover more than 700,000 Floridians.
2018: Rick Scott’s Administration Submitted A Request To Cut Amount Of Time Floridians Have To Apply For Medicaid Coverage From 90 Days To 30 Days. In April, Scott’s administration submitted a request to trim the amount of time Floridians have to sign up for Medicaid coverage from 90 days to 30 days. The state estimated this change would impact almost 39,000 Floridians, but providers warned it could exceed even more.
2015: In A Victory For Rick Scott, The Florida House Rejected Medicaid Expansion For the Third Time. In June 2015, the Florida House rejected a plan 72-41 that would have covered as many as 650,000 residents. It was the third time that legislators had considered and spurned some version of health care expansion since passage of the Affordable Care Act. It represented a victory for Gov. Rick Scott who opposed the bill, which had already passed the state Senate on a 33-3 vote. The Florida Health Insurance Affordability Exchange would have used more than $18 billion over 10 years in federal funds to expand the pool of low-income Floridians eligible for health insurance and help them buy it from private providers.
2013: Both Houses Rejected Rick Scott’s Plan To Expand Medicaid. Governor Rick Scott’s plan to expand Medicaid coverage failed to make it out of a key state legislative committees. The Senate Select Committee on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act voted 7-4 to reject the expansion, with all of the committee’s Republican members voting against the plan. A House legislative committee also rejected the expansion.
2017: The State Senate Rejected Medicaid Expansion On A Voice Vote. During Senate began debate on the budget in 2017, Senate Democratic Leader Oscar Braynon took to the floor and offered up an amendment to expand Medicaid. On a voice vote, the Senate voted to kill Braynon’s amendment.
Rick Scott says coverage for pre-existing conditions should be based on rewarding “people for caring for themselves”
Rick Scott On Care For People With Pre-existing Conditions: “We’ve Got To Reward People For Caring For Themselves.” “‘I believe that if you have a pre-existing condition, you need to still be able to get health care, so it’s very important to me,’ Scott told reporters in Tallahassee. ‘I think everybody ought to be able to get health care insurance. I do believe that you’ve got to start working to fix the law and that law caused our premiums to skyrocket. But I don’t believe in grand bargains, I believe in incrementally trying to make change. We’ve got a lot more competition … We’ve got to reward people for caring for themselves.’” [Tampa Bay Times, 6/13/18]
Rick Scott’s callous comments could leave millions of Floridians with conditions ranging from diabetes to cancer without a way to obtain affordable coverage.
7,810,300 Floridians Live With A Pre-Existing Condition. About one in two Floridians, 51 percent, lives with a pre-existing condition. [CAP, 4/5/17]
Before The Affordable Care Act, Insurance Companies Maintained Lists Of So-Called Deniable Medical Conditions. If someone had one or more ‘deniable’ conditions, they were automatically denied coverage. Common ‘deniable’ conditions included:
Pregnancy, alcohol or drug abuse with recent treatment, dementia, arthritis, cancer, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, hemophilia, hepatitis, diabetes, paralysis, severe obesity, sleep apnea, AIDS/HIV, kidney disease, multiple sclerosis, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, pending surgery or hospitalization, and muscular dystrophy. [Kaiser Family Foundation, December 2016]
As Bus Rolls into West Virginia, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin This Week, Here’s a Look Back at Week 1 On the Road with Protect Our Care
Beginning last Sunday, September 23, Protect Our Care hit the road, taking the health care fight to communities across the country in its first-ever nationwide bus tour. Kicking off in Bridgeport, Connecticut on Saturday, September 23, the bus, “Care Force One,” will make 48 stops across 23 states, covering nearly 12,000 miles.
Joining Protect Our Care’s leaders Brad Woodhouse and Leslie Dach on the journey across the United States are cancer survivor and health care advocate Laura PackardSenators Chris Murphy (D-CT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Angus King (I-ME), Center for American Progress President Neera Tanden, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, former Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius former Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards and more.
At a time when health care is consistently ranked as a top issue for the public, the tour is highlighting that the Republican war on health care is very much alive, with Republican officials using legislation, regulations and the courts to continue their attacks on protections for the 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions, for women, older Americans and Medicaid and Medicare enrollees.
Here’s a snapshot of the first week of the tour:
At Care Force One’s campaign kickoff, Senator Chris Murphy, Senator Richard Blumenthal and Ned Lamont were joined by nearly 100 community members outside a Bridgeport Community Health Center to call attention to Republicans’ ongoing war on health care care.
“Connecticut made the decision to try to make the Affordable Care Act work, not undermine it like many other states did,” said Senator Chris Murphy. “Think about the 20
million Americans who have been given access to health care, whose lives have been changed. Just imagine what that number would be if every other state approached the Affordable Care Act the way Connecticut did.”
On Day 2 of the tour, Senator Angus King and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (ME-01) joined state representatives and Mainers with pre-existing conditions at Portland City Hall to speak out against the devastating repercussions of health care repeal.
“We’ve got to continue to fight against repeal,” said Senator Angus King. “I call it a zombie proposal because it keeps coming back, and it’s a terrible idea and we have to keep trying to push that back to try and protect Medicare as well as the Affordable Care Act.”
From there, the bus rolled onto Banger whereState Representatives Steve Stanley, Anne Perry, and Ryan Tipping joined former Mayor Joe Baldacci and Mainers with pre-existing conditions at Waterfront Park to speak out against the devastating repercussions of health care repeal.
“If I didn’t get the treatment I needed when I was younger, I would not be here today. Today, I work with women on the waitlist waiting for treatment. I have 43 women on my waitlist, 36 of which do not have insurance, and I can guarantee you they’d be eligible for Medicaid if it were to expand,” saidAshley Homstead, who works in the recovery community.
After Maine, Care Force One rolled into New York. In Binghamton, Ron Deutsch, Executive Director of the Fiscal Policy Institute, Jim Carr of the New York State Alliance for Retired Americans, and local residents rallied for health care and in Kingston Assemblymember Kevin Cahill and small business owner Pat Strong called out the Republican war on health care.
“I’m just a grandmother who has a granddaughter with disabilities,” said Linda Quilty. “She was born as what they call a ‘floppy baby,’ she just didn’t move… Now, she’s eight years old and she’s doing wonderfully well. My concern is – what happens to these babies who don’t get the assistance that she has had? Where do they go without all of that help?”
Then on day 4, the tour took to New Jersey, where pediatrician Dr. Jennifer Chuang, nurse Claudia Storichs, and small business owner Jim Parker were joined by Bruce Davis of the New Jersey NAACP, Seth Hahn of CWA New Jersey and Andy Kim. “I’m the father of two baby boys, and my youngest baby was someone who had significant health problems right from the very beginning,” said Kim. “I remember when the doctors told us that he was dangerously underweight and had real risk. And it reminded me of how many families in this country and this community have health care crises and are unsure of how they’ll be able to afford it.”
From there, the bus rolled on to Pennsylvania, where day 5 was spent with Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, stateSenator Vincent Hughes and State Representative Tim Briggs, County Executive and former Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper, Robin Stelly from Pennsylvania Health Action Network and residents living with pre-existing conditions who decried efforts by Republicans to roll back progress on health care.
“Preserving the protections from the Affordable Care Act is one of my top priorities,” State Senator Vincent Hughes said. “Not only were we able to expand Medicaid in the Keystone state, but we saw a dramatic increase in insured individuals. I don’t want to give up that progress and force those in need, especially people with pre-existing conditions, to be without the critical services they must have to survive.”
“Medicaid gave my little girl the ability to swallow and eat, to walk, even to make friends. Medicaid has filled the many gaps in her private insurance, and the protections provided in the ACA for pre-existing conditions and prohibitions on lifetime caps has meant that my daughter can still be covered by insurance,” said Erin Gabriel, whose three children all have special needs, joined Shapiro and the group of advocates.
On day 6, Care Force One was in Ohio, where American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein, Cleveland City Council Members Blaine Griffin and Phyllis Cleveland joined civil rights attorney Betsy Rader and local health care providers and patients to speak out about the devastating repercussions of health care repeal.
“What we’re seeing in the country right now is essentially a group of people that Trump basically represents, who want to keep power and control for those who are rich, raising healthcare costs for all of us,” Weingarten said.
This week, the bus rolls on to West Virginia. Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. More details about upcoming stops can be found here.
Washington, DC – Today, the House voted on a package of legislation to address the opioid crisis, while at the same time Republicans at all levels have doubled down on their attacks on people with pre-existing conditions, including opioid use disorder, in the courts, through legislation and through regulations that promotejunk plans and restrict Medicaid. In response, Leslie Dach, chair of Protect Our Care, issued the following statement:
“It’s past time that Republicans do the things that would truly support the families suffering from this crisis: end its assault on Medicaid, upon which four in 10 Americans with opioid use disorder relies, and back down from its constant attacks on people people with pre-existing conditions.”
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND: How Republican Health Care Sabotage Is Exacerbating The Opioid Crisis
BY THE NUMBERS
More than half of people with an opioid use disorder earn incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty line.
In 2014, Medicaid paid for 25 percent of all addiction treatment nationwide.
It is estimated that Medicaid expansion covers four in 10 people with an opioid use disorder.
The opioid epidemic is now the most deadly drug overdose crisis in U.S. history. In 2016, roughly 64,000 Americans died of drug overdoses, meaning that more American lives were lost due to drug overdoses in 2016 than were lost in combat during the entirety of the Vietnam War. Two-thirds of 2016 drug overdoses involved opioids.
Medicaid expansion has reduced unmet need for substance use treatment by more than 18 percent. Recent research finds that Medicaid expanding reduced the unmet need for substance use treatment by 18.3 percent.
HOW PRESIDENT TRUMP & CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS ARE WORKING TO DISMANTLE MEDICAID
President Trump and his Republican allies in Congress have repeatedly tried to slash Medicaid funding, including by imposing per-capita caps. Last year, the House of Representatives passed the American Health Care Act (AHCA), which included a per-capita limit on federal Medicaid spending and would have resulted in huge cuts to Medicaid across states. After failing to pass the AHCA in the Senate, Republicans have relentlessly continued their attacks on Medicaid. In December, the Trump Administration went so far as to propose a budget that called for $1.4 trillion in cuts to Medicaid.
The Trump Administration is now encouraging new hurdles for Medicaid enrollees in order to keep their coverage. Experts warn that work requirements are fundamentally bureaucratic hurdles designed to restrict access to health care rather than increase employment. Previous examples show that requiring enrollees verify their employment or work-related activities reduces enrollment among those still eligible for Medicaid.
President Trump and Congressional Republicans are targeting Medicaid to pay for tax cuts to the wealthy. Last December, President Trump signed a $1.5 trillion tax bill that disproportionately benefits the wealthy. How do Republicans plan on paying for it? Speaker Ryan’s answer is clear: “Frankly, it’s the health care entitlements that are the big drivers of our debt.” Republicans’ approach is simple: cut programs like Medicaid that support working families.
Restricting access to Medicaid threatens lives and impedes states’ ability to respond to the opioid epidemic. Four in ten Americans with an opioid use disorder relies on Medicaid for access to treatment, and in cases of overdose, for life-saving overdose reversal medication. By cutting funding to Medicaid and restricting the eligibility of those who can enroll, the Trump Administration is people’s lives at risk and is depriving states of funding and resources they depend on to fight the opioid epidemic.
BY HELPING PEOPLE ACCESS TREATMENT AND OVERDOSE-REVERSAL MEDICATION, MEDICAID SAVES LIVES
In 2014, Medicaid Paid For 25 Percent Of Spending For Addiction Treatment. “A 2014 study by Truven Health Analytics researchers found that Medicaid paid for about 25 percent — $7.9 billion of $31.3 billion — of projected public and private spending for addiction treatment in 2014. That made it the second-biggest payer of addiction treatment after all local and state government programs.” [Vox, 2/13/18]
By Expanding Access To Naloxone, Medicaid Has Saved Lives. “We estimate that in Massachusetts 868 opioid-related deaths were averted in 2016 (13 per 100,000 population). By contrast in Tennessee, which did not expand its Medicaid program, only 11 opioid-related deaths were averted in 2016 (0.17 per 100,000 population). Both states have been hit particularly hard by the opioid epidemic: Opioid-related deaths in 2015 were 20.9 and 21.5 per 100,000 in Massachusetts and Tennessee, respectively.” [Commonwealth Fund, 7/5/17]
MEDICAID EXPANSION HAS INCREASED ACCESS TO TREATMENT
Medicaid Helps Make Buprenorphine And Naloxone, Drugs Used To Treat Opioid Use Disorder, Affordable. “These data are consistent with other evidence that Medicaid expansion is improving access to care for people with opioid use and other substance use disorders. Medicaid makes medications like buprenorphine and naloxone, which are prescribed to combat opioid use disorders, affordable for beneficiaries.“ [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2/28/18]
Medicaid Expansion Has Improved Access To Substance Treatment Services. “Evidence also suggests that Medicaid expansion improved access to substance use treatment services more broadly. After expanding Medicaid, Kentucky experienced a 700 percent increase in Medicaid beneficiaries using substance use treatment services. Use of treatment services rose nationally as well; one study found that expanding Medicaid reduced the unmet need for substance use treatment by 18.3 percent.” [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2/28/18]
In Ohio, Medicaid Has Helped Those With Substance Use Disorders Access Mental Health Services. “An Ohio study found that 59 percent of people with opioid-use disorders who had gained Medicaid coverage under expansion reported improved access to mental health care. Nationwide, the share of people forgoing mental health care due to cost fell by about one-third as the ACA, including Medicaid expansion, took effect.” [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2/28/18]
MEDICAID GIVES STATES MORE RESOURCES TO ADDRESS THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC
Medicaid Is A Sustainable Source Of Funding Compared To Short-Term Grants. “Now that more people with SUDs are eligible for Medicaid, states can significantly improve treatment for people with SUDs by improving Medicaid-covered services. Medicaid can be a sustainable funding source for providers, as opposed to capped, short-term grant funding.” [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2/28/18]
There Is No Substitute For Comprehensive Health Care In Fighting The Opioid Epidemic. In response to the opioid epidemic, Republicans proposed creating a $45 billion fund. However, as the Center for American Progress analyzes, “The Senate opioid fund is no substitute for comprehensive health coverage.” Why? Because “Even if the entirety of the fund were available to cover low-income individuals being treated for OUD, $45 billion would provide only half of the $91 billion that would be available under the ACA for health coverage alone.” [Center for American Progress, 6/20/17]
Thanks To Medicaid Expansion, The Uninsured Rate For Opioid-Related Hospitalizations Dropped In Expansion States. “In Medicaid expansion states, the uninsured rate for opioid-related hospitalizations plummeted by 79 percent, from 13.4 percent in 2013 (the year before expansion implementation) to 2.9 percent in 2015. The decline in non-expansion states was a much more modest 5 percent, from 17.3 percent in 2013 to 16.4 percent in 2015.” [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2/28/18]
PUBLIC HEALTH, LAW ENFORCEMENT EXPERTS AGREE: MEDICAID IS KEY TOOL IN OPIOID FIGHT
A Panel Of Public Health Officials, Policy Experts, And Law Enforcement Officials Found Medicaid Among Most Important Programs In Combating Opioid Epidemic. Investing in Medicaid was the third most cited response when a panel of thirty experts were asked where they would put money to combat the opioid epidemic. [New York Times, 2/14/18]
Jay Unick, University Professor: Medicaid Expansion Is Most Important Intervention To Improve Opioid Epidemic. Medicaid expansion would be “the most important intervention for improving outcomes related to the opiate epidemic…all the other interventions discussed here only work if individuals have access to quality health care.” [New York Times, 2/14/18]
160 National, State, and Local Organizations Warn That Trump’s Medicaid Sabotage Will Hurt Those With Substance Use Disorders in Letter to Secretary Azar: “CMS’s Medicaid work requirements policy is directly at odds with bipartisan efforts to curb the opioid crisis…and will have a significant and disproportionately harmful effect on individuals with chronic health conditions, especially those struggling with substance use disorders (SUDs) and mental health disorders.” [Letter, 2/15/18]
Signatories include: ADAP Advocacy Association (aaa+); Addiction Policy Forum, Advocacy Center of Louisiana; AIDS United, Alameda County Community Food Bank; American Association on Health and Disability; American Association of People with Disabilities; American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD); American Civil Liberties Union; American Federation of State; County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME); American Foundation for Suicide Prevention; American Group Psychotherapy Association; American Psychological Association; American Society of Addiction Medicine; Association for Ambulatory Behavioral Healthcare; Bailey House, Inc.; Board for Certification of Nutrition Specialists; Brooklyn Defender Services; CADA of Northwest Louisiana; California Consortium of Addiction Programs & Professionals; California Hepatitis Alliance; Caring Across Generations; Caring Ambassadors Program; CASES; Center for Civil Justice; Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO); Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation; Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP); Center for Medicare Advocacy; Center for Public Representation; Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy; CHOW Project; Coalition of Medication Assisted Treatment Providers and Advocates; Colorado Center on Law and Policy; Community Access National Network (CANN); Community Catalyst; Community Health Councils; Community Legal Services of Philadelphia; Community Oriented Correctional Health Services; Community Service Society; Connecticut Legal Services; Consumer Health First; C.O.R.E. Medical Clinic, Inc.; Council on Social Work Education; CURE (Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants); DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence; Desert AIDS Project; Disability Rights Arkansas; Disability Rights Wisconsin; Drug Policy Alliance; EAC Network (Empower Assist Care); EverThrive Illinois; Facing Addiction with NCADD; Faces & Voices of Recovery; FedCURE; First Focus; Florida Health Justice Project, Inc.; Food & Friends; The Fortune Society; Forward Justice; Friends of Recovery – New York; Futures Without Violence; God’s Love We Deliver; Greater Hartford Legal Aid; Greenburger Center for Social and Criminal Justice; Harm Reduction Coalition; Health Law Advocates; Hep Free Hawaii; Hepatitis C Support Project/HCV Advocate; Heartland Alliance; HIV Medicine Association; Horizon Health Services; Hunger Free America; ICCA; Illinois Association of Behavioral Health; The Joy Bus; JustLeadershipUSA; Katal Center for Health, Equity, and Justice; The Kennedy Forum; Kentucky Equal Justice Center ; Kitchen Angels ; Justice in Aging ; Justice Consultants, LLC; Lakeshore Foundation; Law Foundation of Silicon Valley; Legal Action Center; The Legal Aid Society; Legal Council for Health Justice; Life Foundation; Live4Lali; Liver Health Connection; Maine Equal Justice Partners; MANNA (Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance); Massachusetts Law Reform Institute; McShin Foundation; Mental Health America; Mental Health Association in New York State, Inc. (MHANYS); Michigan Poverty Law Program; Minnesota Recovery Connection; Mississippi Center for Justice; NAACP; The National Alliance to Advance Adolescent Health; National Alliance on Mental Illness; NAMI-NYS; National Alliance of State & Territorial AIDS Directors; National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers; National Association of County Behavioral Health & Developmental Disability Directors; National Association for Rural Mental Health; National Association of Social Workers; National Center for Law and Economic Justice; National Coalition Against Domestic Violence; National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Phoenix; National Council for Behavioral Health; National Council of Churches; National Disability Rights Network; National Employment Law Project; National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health; National Health Care for the Homeless Council; National Health Law Program; National HIRE Network; National Juvenile Justice Network; National LGBTQ Task Force; National Low Income Housing Coalition; National Organization for Women; The National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable; NC Justice Center; New Haven Legal Assistance Association; New York Association of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse; New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services; New York Lawyers for the Public Interest; New York State Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare; Open Hands Legal Services; Osborne Association; Outreach Development Corp.; The Partnership for Drug Free Kids; PICO National Network; The Poverello Center, Inc.; Project Inform; Public Justice Center; Root & Rebound; Ryan White Medical Providers Coalition; Safer Foundation; Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law; School Social Work Association of America; Sea Island Action Network, South Carolina; The Sentencing Project; Shatterproof; Society of General Internal Medicine; Southern Center for Human Rights; Southern Poverty Law Center; Students for Sensible Drug Policy; TASC of the Capital District, Inc.; Tennessee Justice Center; Three Square Food Bank; Transitions Clinic Network; Treatment Action Group; Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC) – Illinois; Treatment Communities of America; Virginia Poverty Law Center; Western Center on Law & Poverty
