Photo Courtesy of Sen. Schumer’s Office
Sen. Schumer on the Senate GOP health care bill: “It’s every bit as bad as the House bill; in some ways, it’s even worse.”
By Forum Staff
New York Democrats this week blasted the new Senate GOP Health Care Plan.
“This bill is designed to strip away healthcare benefits and protections from New Yorkers and Americans who need it most, in order to give a giant tax break to the folks who need it the least,” said Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer. “Simply put: this bill will result in higher costs, less care, and millions of Americans will lose their health insurance. It’s every bit as bad as the House bill; in some ways, it’s even worse.”
Schumer said the bill would hurt the more than 6.3 million New Yorkers enrolled in Medicaid—many in nursing homes and approximately 1.3 million in New York City alone. Schumer said the bill also abandons people with pre-existing conditions, especially maternity care and mental health; defunds Planned Parenthood, eliminating care for women in New York and across the country; weakens health care coverage for those with opioid, substance abuse and mental health disorders; and forces older Americans to pay more for coverage. Schumer said the bill slashes support for healthcare programs in order to give tax breaks to the very wealthy.
According to Schumer, “First the Senate Republicans’ bill will cause health care costs for middle class and working Americans to go up. By cutting back on tax credits and making Americans to pay an even bigger percentage of their income for their premiums, they’ll send costs soaring. Second, this bill will kick millions off of Medicaid, by making even deeper cuts than the House bill. If you’re a middle class family with a loved one in a nursing home, the cost of that care could go up. Third, the Senate health care bill abandons people with pre-existing conditions, putting at dire risk maternity care and mental health coverage, by allowing states even more latitude to get out of covering essential health benefits. Fourth, the bill defunds Planned Parenthood, making it harder for millions of women to obtain the health care they need and deserve. And Senate Republicans are doing all of this to provide a gigantic tax break for the wealthiest Americans.”
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) added, “It is unfathomable that the Senate GOP wants to ask middle class and low-income workers to pay more money for less coverage, all to cut taxes for insurance companies and the wealthiest among us. I could not think of a more out-of-touch or insulting proposal to working Americans already struggling with the high cost of health care today. The cuts to Medicaid in particular are galling. Today, Medicaid serves one in five Americans – not only the poor, but two-thirds of those in nursing homes, more than 30 million children, and countless individuals with disabilities. To end the Medicaid expansion created under the Affordable Care Act is a cruel joke, as is the blatantly partisan attack on women’s health by defunding Planned Parenthood and allowing waivers to opt out of essential benefit requirements that cover maternity care.”
