Home of the Standards for Excellence Institute

Policy Alert: Oppose the Latest Effort to Repeal and Replace the ACA

September 20, 2017

 

We have just been advised that the U.S. Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing this coming Monday, Sept. 25, on the Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson Proposal to repeal the Affordable Care Act – setting up a Senate vote prior to the Sept. 30 expiration of ‘reconciliation’ rules that would allow this to happen with only 50 votes plus Vice-President Pence as tie-breaker.

Here is a summary of the proposal we have received from Senator Cardin’s office, and here is a link to “12 Facts” about the bill prepared by Families USA.  In short, the G-C-H-J proposal is the most damaging ‘repeal and replace’ effort yet, and if passed would be quickly taken up in the House.  CBO has indicated that they will not be able to score many of the impacts before the planned Senate vote.  Governor Hogan yesterday joined a bi-partisan group of other governors in opposing the bill.

The Senator is hoping that as many Maryland groups as possible that oppose this proposal can submit comments for the record in time for Monday’s hearing. You can send your comments and stories of how this may affect your clients or missions, to this email address – GCHcomments@finance.senate.gov.  All comments sent by Monday morning will be copied by committee staff in time for the hearing. 

Some examples of the Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson Proposal’s impact on health coverage and on Maryland:

  • Establishes a per-capita cap on Medicaid.
  • Ends the Medicaid expansion as we know it.
  • Rolls back protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions.
  • Allows states to impose burdensome work requirements as a condition of Medicaid coverage.
  • Maryland stands to lose $2.1 billion in state and federal funding in FY2020. By 2026, Maryland will lose over $4.8 billion in federal Medicaid funding.
  • The proposal means $6,000 less is available to spend on Marylanders who are enrolled in Medicaid and Medicaid expansion plans.
  • The proposal impacts the over 975,000 people in Maryland who depend on Medicaid, including 77,000 seniors; 148,000 individuals with disabilities; and 32,000 veterans.
  • The proposal also severely jeopardizes Maryland’s Hospital All-Payer Model and the financial stability of Maryland’s rural hospitals.

Maryland Nonprofits believes that all Marylanders should be assured of affordable access to quality healthcare – please join us in opposing this last ditch effort to destroy rather than fix and strengthen the Affordable Care Act that has helped so many in Maryland and around the nation.