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Health Care

ashoup
In Capitol Hill, Administration

Protect Our Care Statement On Potential Inclusion Of Alexander-Murray In Senate Spending Bill

In response to the news that the Senate plans to include the Alexander-Murray legislation in its must-pass spending bill this week, Protect Our Care Campaign Director Brad Woodhouse released the following statement:

“This is not nearly enough to offset the damage caused by this tax bill, and for senators to pretend otherwise is wrong and short-sighted” said Woodhouse. “13 million people will lose health insurance due to sneaky repeal and millions more will see their premiums rise double digits, and Alexander-Murray will do virtually nothing for these people even it is able to pass the House, far from a sure thing.

“Perhaps Senators Collins and Murkowski think this legislation will allow them to justify supporting a tax scam benefiting the wealthiest and big corporations at the expense of everyone else, but it provides little comfort to the American people losing sleep over their health care being put in jeopardy by the GOP tax scam.”

ashoup
In Capitol Hill, Administration

Tell Bob to Put a Cork In the Tax Bill

Sen. Bob Corker wins from the tax bill, while Tennesseans lose

SEN. CORKER COULD SEE MORE THAN $1 MILLION WINDFALL FROM THIS TAX BILL …

Economist Dean Baker estimates that Sen. Bob Corker could see a more than $1 million windfall from a provision in the latest tax bill Corker is now supporting.

WHAT AVERAGE TENNESSEANS GET …

  • $1.46 trillion added to the debt
  • 262,000 Tennesseans will lose health coverage
  • $2,970 higher premiums for a typical middle class family in Tennessee
  • $2,189 age tax for people over 50 in Tennessee because of higher premiums
  • $25 billion in Medicare cuts, including $539 million in Tennessee alone – and laying the groundwork for even more
ashoup
In Capitol Hill, News

Protect Our Care Statement In Response to GOP Finally Releasing Tax Scam Text

In response to the text of the GOP tax scam – which kicks 13 million people off of their insurance, raises premiums double digits for millions more and cuts Medicare by $25 billion – finally being released, Protect Our Care Campaign Director Brad Woodhouse released the following statement:

“This GOP tax plan was negotiated behind closed doors, and now they’re releasing it as a Friday night news dump on the weekend before the vote because they want this hidden from the American people and only shared with their donors,” said Woodhouse. “They know the American people reject giving tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations at the expense of health care for middle class families. The more people learn about this plan, the worse things will get for its supporters. Thirteen million Americans will lose their insurance, tens of millions more will see their premiums increase by double digits and Medicare will be slashed by $25 billion, all to give a tax break to the wealthiest and corporations..

“After being written in a back room, without hearings, expert input or a bipartisan debate, and passing the Senate in the middle of the night, this bill went through conference in complete secrecy, with Democratic amendments refused and Democratic Members being given just two hours to examine it. And of course, this comes just days after a special election in Alabama where the Trump/GOP agenda was soundly rejected and just a month after GOP electoral losses across the country where healthcare played the dominant role.

“This bill is a mockery of the democratic process  This bill gives the top 0.1% a $200,000 tax break while raising health care premiums for people by 10%. That is indefensible. Any GOP Member of Congress who cares about their constituents’ health care should vote against it.”

Sean England
In News

Voters Unaware of Changes to ACA Open Enrollment, Think Cuts Will Lead to More Uninsured   

From: Jim Williams, Public Policy Polling®

To: Interested Parties

Subject: Voters Unaware of Changes to ACA Open Enrollment, Think Cuts Will Lead to More Uninsured

Date: December 14, 2017

A new Public Policy Polling survey finds that many voters are unaware of the shortened open enrollment time period under the Affordable Care Act – 57% of voters are either not sure when the deadline is, or they think it’s later than it actually is. This is also true for 50% of voters who buy their own health insurance. Further, when informed of the Trump Administration’s decision to cut the open enrollment period in half from 90 days to 45 days, 61% of voters believe that this will results in less people having health care coverage, including 49% of those who buy their own insurance.

Key findings from the survey include:

  • Voters are largely in the dark about when the open enrollment period ends. Just 43% of them think it ends on December 15th, while 57% aren’t sure or say they think it’s later in the future than it actually is. Crucially, 50% of voters who buy their own insurance either aren’t sure of the closing date or get the date wrong.
  • The Trump Administration’s moves to curb advertising to raise awareness of open enrollment seem to be having an effect – just 36% of voters say they’ve seen any advertising about HealthCare.gov this year, 55% say they have not. Just 29% say they’ve heard “a lot” about the open enrollment period for signing up for healthcare in 2018; over 40% say they’ve heard “just a little” or “not much at all.” Only 41% of voters who buy their own insurance say they’ve heard “a lot” about open enrollment this year.
  • 61% of voters say they think that the Trump administration cutting the open enrollment period in half so that this year it only lasts 45 days compared to previous Open Enrollment periods that lasted 90 days will have the result of less people having health care coverage, including 49% of those who buy their own insurance.PPP surveyed 585 registered voters nationally from December 12-13, 2017. The margin of error is +/- 4.1%. This poll was conducted using automated telephone interviews for Protect Our Care.

The full results of the national survey can be found here.

ashoup
In Capitol Hill, Administration, News

The Facts Are In: Despite ACA Popularity, The Trump Administration’s Sabotage Will Deny Affordable Health Coverage to Large Numbers of Americans

This is what health care sabotage looks like.

As open enrollment ends tomorrow, people are starting to notice that the Trump Administration’s extensive sabotage – shortening the enrollment period, eliminating outreach and TV  advertising, cutting funding for navigators – means less people will get health care coverage than would have otherwise.

See for yourself …

Washington Post: ACA Enrollment “Almost Sure To Fall Short In The End Because Of A Compressed Enrollment Season.”  

Kaiser Family Foundation: ‘If not for the pronouncements of its death, and steps taken to hobble it, the ACA marketplace would actually seem, well, alive,’ Larry Levitt, senior vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation said.

NBC News: “The Total Number Is Likely To Fall Short Of Last Year, Which Featured Both A Longer Enrollment Period And A Far More Robust Outreach Campaign.”

Huffington Post: “Another Reason Experts Expect An Enrollment Decline Is The Trump Administration’s Management Of The Program, Which Has Included Neglect And Outright Sabotage.”

Reuters: “The Trump Administration Has Worked Hard To Undercut” Enrollment.

The Hill: “The Trump administration’s abbreviated enrollment period has left advocates acknowledging the numbers are almost surely going to be lower than the 9.2 million who signed up on HealthCare.gov at the end of the last open enrollment season.”

Bloomberg BNA: “Major Changes Made By The Trump Administration – Such As Cutting Funding For Outreach – Are Making It Challenging To Get As Many People Signed Up This Year.”

ashoup
In Capitol Hill, News

Protect Our Care Statement On Paul Ryan’s Inability To Accept The Truth

In response to the news that House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) told reporters that lawmakers need to “revisit” the Affordable Care Act, Protect Our Care Campaign Director Brad Woodhouse released the following statement:

“Like a zombie, the GOP repeal agenda and their lies on the Affordable Care Act simply won’t go away,” said Woodhouse. “It’s not enough that Paul Ryan and Congressional Republicans have snuck health care repeal into the tax bill to rip coverage away from 13 million Americans and increase premiums by double digits on millions more, they are continuing to insist they will return to repeal in 2018 and they will lie through their teeth in the process. No, Speaker Ryan, the Affordable Care Act is not failing – in fact, it’s succeeding despite the GOP agenda of repeal and sabotage. Every county in the country has coverage, plans are affordable and despite the efforts by the Trump Administration to sabotage open enrollment millions of Americans are shopping for and enrolling in plans.

“Speaker Ryan, your party is in a downward political spiral because of your repeal and sabotage agenda on health care. It was reported today that you might retire at the end of the current Congress in 2018. Mr. Speaker, if you continue efforts to repeal the ACA and deny Americans affordable access to health care the issue of your retirement may well be decided for you.”

ashoup
In Capitol Hill, News

In Alabama, Health Care Wins Again

Doug Jones’ shocking win in Alabama might have changed the political landscape, but when one compares his victory to those on Election Day last month, there’s at least one striking similarity: health care. In November, candidates up and down the ballot in Virginia and Maine, Georgia and New Hampshire, ran on the expansion of health care and won. In Alabama, Doug Jones was deemed a “proud supporter of Obamacare,” loudly rejected GOP attempts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and made funding the Children’s Health Insurance Program the first policy mentioned in his victory speech. In short, despite the swirl of other issues, in Alabama, health care won again.

Health Care Was A Top Issue In The Election. “Using Google data, we can see the top-searched issue in almost every Alabama county when it comes to the U.S. Senate race in Alabama. The data covers five topics: immigration, crime, sexual harassment, abortion and healthcare… Healthcare follows crime in the list of most-searched topics in Alabama’s Senate race. That’s especially true in Marengo County, where a whopping 62 percent of Senate-related searches have to do with healthcare… There are four counties where Senate-related searches are evenly divided between crime and healthcare.” [AL.com, 11/29/17]

Doug Jones Was Labeled A “Proud Supporter Of Obamacare.” “Alabama Democratic Senate candidate Doug Jones argued at a rally over the past weekend that ‘We’ve got to quit playing political football’ over whether to repeal Obamacare. Jones’ Republican competitor Judge Roy Moore said that he will ‘vote to repeal Obamacare.’ … The Roy Moore campaign has continued to label Doug Jones a ‘proud supporter of Obamacare.’ [Breitbart, 12/11/17]

Doug Jones: “I Am Disturbed About Repeated Repeal Efforts.” “On his campaign website, he declares that ‘health care is a right’ and praised former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act.
‘I am disturbed about repeated efforts to repeal the bill or weaken it, leaving as many as 32 million more Americans without insurance, driving up rates for others and likely leading to the closure of more rural health care facilities vital in many regions of Alabama. That is a nonstarter,’ Jones says on his website.” [CNN, 11/27/17]

Doug Jones: Repeal And Replace “Not Something That’s Workable.” “As he emphasized his concern over the national health care debate, Jones made clear that eliminating Obamacare is not the solution. And voters, he said, shouldn’t be led into thinking that it is. ‘Repeal and replace is a political slogan,’ Jones said. ‘It’s not something that’s workable.’ After Republican politicians promised voters they would replace Obamacare once President Obama left office, they have failed so far to do so. Jones said the Affordable Care Act needs to be improved and that’s where the energy should be spent – not on doing away with it altogether.” [AL.com, 12/5/17]

Doug Jones Made Clear He Opposed Repealing The ACA, Pledged To “Fix” Health Care. “Democratic Senate candidate Doug Jones released a new TV campaign ad on Monday, focusing on his pledge to help ‘fix’ the problems in health care while attacking Republican opponent Roy Moore. ‘If it’s broken, fix it,’ Jones said as the ad begins. ‘Health care, it’s broken. You know it and I know it. But Roy Moore’s grandstanding and extreme views will do nothing to fix it and his policies will take us back to the past.’ … Jones also said he opposes abolishing the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, but said there are problems within the national health care law that need to be repaired.” [AL.com, 11/6/17]

Doug Jones Attacked Roy Moore Over The CHIP Program. “Democratic Senate nominee Doug Jones has accused Republican nominee Roy Moore of refusing to support renewal of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which provides insurance to about 150,000 children in the state. ‘Alabamians need leaders who will place a priority on improving the health care of all citizens, children and seniors,’ the Jones campaign said in a statement Wednesday.” [Montgomery Advertiser, 11/3/17]

Health Care Was The First Policy Jones Brought Up In His Victory Speech. “Jones thanked the volunteers who ‘knocked on 300,000 doors’ and made ‘1.2 million phone calls’ on his behalf, and said he’s ready to go to Washington to work on health care, particularly funding the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).” [The Week, 12/12/17]

Doug Jones Called On Congress To Re-Authorize CHIP “Before I Get Up There.” “So I – I have a challenge. I have a challenge to my future colleagues in Washington. Don’t wait on me… Take this opportunity, in light of this election, and go ahead and fun that CHIP program before I get up there. Put it aside and let’s do it for those million kids and 150,000 here in Birmingham.” [New York Times, 12/12/17]

ashoup
In Capitol Hill, News

Protect Our Care Statement On GOP Tax Scam Following Doug Jones Victory

#DelayforDoug

Washington, D.C. – Following Doug Jones’ historic victory in Alabama and the continued insistence of GOP leadership to ram their tax scam through and ignore the will of the people, Protect Our Care Campaign Director Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement:

“If the GOP attempts to jam their tax scam through in the aftermath of this election without allowing Doug Jones to be sworn in and the people of Alabama to be heard, they will make this colossal political miscalculation for themselves even worse,” said Woodhouse. “The Republicans wrote their tax bill, including their sneaky health care repeal, in secret, without any hearings or true debate, and passed it in the middle of the night – and the American people overwhelmingly opposed it even before last night’s political earthquake.

“Now, after the voters of Alabama made their preference clear, the GOP seems prepared to ignore the will of the people – all to rip health care away from 13 million people and raise premiums double digits for tens of millions more to give tax breaks to the wealthiest and big corporations. Majority Leader McConnell should commit to delaying final consideration of the tax bill until Doug Jones is seated. If he doesn’t, Jeff Flake, who supported Jones, and Susan Collins, who already has reservations about the bill, should compel him to do so with their votes.”

Sean England
In Capitol Hill, News

Protect Our Care: Alabama Election Changed Political Landscape, Republicans Must Delay Vote on GOP Tax Plan Until Doug Jones is Sworn In

Washington, DC – Following the historic victory of Doug Jones in the Alabama special election for U.S. Senate, Protect Our Care Campaign Director Brad Woodhouse released the following statement:

“Doug Jones’s victory in the Alabama Senate race is a political earthquake, and before Republicans make matters even worse for themselves by voting on a tax scam that rips away health care from millions of Americans, they must allow Doug Jones to be sworn in and force every Republican Senator to decide if they want to be the deciding vote on a bill that devastates American health care to give tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations.”

Sean England
In Capitol Hill, News

Who’s Against the GOP Health Care Repeal Tax Scam? Everyone, Basically

The GOP tax scam doubles as a sneaky repeal of the Affordable Care Act — it kicks 13 million people off of their insurance, raises premiums by double digits for millions more and triggers a $25 billion cut to Medicare, all to pay for tax breaks for the wealthiest and corporations. The leading experts — patient groups, insurers, doctors, actuaries and hospitals — all oppose the passage of this legislation. More than 2,400 faith leaders oppose it. And the American people overwhelmingly reject it. Why won’t the GOP listen to anyone?

American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, And 16 More Leading Patient Groups: People With “Serious Health Care Needs” And With Pre-Existing Conditions “May Not Be Able To Afford Coverage.” “Many individuals with serious health care needs, including patients with chronic or major health conditions, who by definition, have a pre-existing condition, may not be able to afford coverage.” [The Hill, 11/28/17]

America’s Health Insurance Plans, American Academy Of Family Physicians, American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Federation Of American Hospitals: Leading Industry Groups Warn Of “Serious Consequences” Should The Mandate Be Repealed. “As providers of healthcare and coverage to hundreds of millions of Americans, we are committed to assuring everyone has access to a range of high quality, affordable coverage options so they can access the care they need, regardless of pre-existing conditions. To achieve this critical goal, we are urging you to maintain the individual mandate unless and until Congress can enact a package of reforms to adequately assure a balanced risk pool and prevent extraordinary premium increases.” [Letter, 11/14/17]

American Academy of Actuaries: “Premiums Would Increase, Reducing Affordability And Eroding Pre-Existing Condition Protections.” The individual mandate is an integral component of the ACA. It helps support the law’s pre-existing condition protections — the provisions that prohibit insurers from denying coverage or charging higher premiums based on health status. The mandate helps encourage the young and healthy, as well as the old and sick, to obtain coverage, thus achieving the balanced risk pool required to keep premiums affordable and stable. In practice, its financial penalty is usually low as a share of premiums, many individuals are exempt, and enforcement is weak. Nevertheless, the mandate, especially in conjunction with the premium and cost-sharing subsidies, likely increases enrollment above what it would otherwise be. Eliminating the mandate without implementing an alternative means to drive enrollment among healthy individuals would likely result in a deterioration of the risk pool due to lower coverage rates among lower-cost individuals who could defer purchasing insurance until a health need arose. Premiums would increase as a result, reducing affordability and eroding pre-existing condition protections. [Letter, 12/12/17]

More Than 2,400 Faith Leaders: “That The Number Of Uninsured Individuals Would Increase By 13 Million By 2025…Violates Our Faith Teaching.” “The individual mandate is critical to keeping individual market coverage affordable and keeping the individual market stable. By repealing the individual mandate, legislation will cause catastrophic losses in health coverage. The CBO estimates that the number of uninsured individuals would increase by 13 million by 2025, which violates our faith teaching.” [Letter, 11/29/17]

The American People: “Just 32% Support The GOP Tax Plan…The Lowest Level Of Public Support For Any Major Piece Of Legislation Enacted In The Past Three Decades. “ A new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll finds just 32% support the GOP tax plan; 48% oppose it. That’s the lowest level of public support for any major piece of legislation enacted in the past three decades, including the Affordable Care Act in 2009. [USA Today, 12/10/17]

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