Collins Amendment Distracts From Health Care Disaster
Republican Health Care Bill Will Eliminate Coverage for 24M+ People, Increase Costs, Threaten Lives
Albany, NY – In response to news that New York State members of Congress are considering voting in support of the American Health Care Act, the Republican replacement for the Affordable Care Act, after inclusion of an amendment by Rep. Collins of Western New York that shifts the cost of Medicaid from counties to the State, Karen Scharff, Executive Director of Citizen Action of New York, said:
“With or without this amendment, a vote for the American Health Care Act is a vote to take away quality, affordable health coverage from 24 million people nationwide – an average of 80,000 people in each New York Congressional district. Republican leaders are trying to woo Upstate members of Congress with an amendment that could result in even deeper cuts to their districts. It’s rural hospitals and health care providers that will get hit the hardest by gutting Medicaid, putting every individual in our Upstate communities at risk. This amendment can only exacerbate the already devastating impact that increasing the costs of health care and decreasing the number of people covered will have – all while boosting profits for the health industry executives and lobbyists.”
###