Community Coalition Calls on Rep. John Faso to Reject the Graham-Cassidy Repeal Bill
Kingston, NY — Hudson Valley residents rallied today to call on Rep. John Faso to forcefully reject the latest attempt to repeal key provisions of the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid. The new repeal bill, which is being called Graham-Cassidy, would raise premiums and strip health care coverage from millions of New Yorkers, includings thousands of families in the Hudson Valley region.
The Graham-Cassidy bill continues to gain momentum and could pass the Senate and head to the House for an up or down vote within days.
“New York nurses work hard every day to give our patients the best possible care, and that includes fighting to preserve the Affordable Care Act,” said Lawrence Clayton, RN from HealthAlliance Benedictine Hospital. “Representative Faso: I am here at your Kingston office today asking you to reach out to your colleagues in the Senate to vote “no” on the Graham-Cassidy bill. Our community’s health should not be put at risk “
“This bill is a disaster for New York State. The bill was designed to shift federal money away from states like New York that extended coverage to states that refused to expand Medicaid,” said Callie Jayne, lead organizer for Citizen Action of New York. “No member of Congress from New York can justify supporting a bill that will cut health care funding for the state by $18 billion.”
While CBO hasn’t yet scored the Graham-Cassidy plan, it’s clear that the plan would take coverage from tens of millions of people, consistent with past ACA repeal bills.
- The plan’s effects would be identical to the earlier Senate repeal bill, causing 15 million people to become uninsured next year and driving up premiums by 20 percent.
- After 2020, when the plan’s cuts to Medicaid expansion, ACA subsidies, and the underlying Medicaid program would take effect, coverage losses would grow.
- NYS would lose $18 billion in health care funding.
- By 2027, the plan would cause 32 million or more people to lose coverage, just like earlier plans to repeal the ACA with no replacement. Once its block grant funding ends, the Cassidy-Graham proposal is virtually identical to those plans, except that it also cuts Medicaid for seniors, people with disabilities, and families with children.
- The ACA’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions would be gutted, making their insurance unaffordable.
The Graham-Cassidy bill is proceeding under the same veil of secrecy as past ACA repeal bills. Development of the legislation has taken place behind closed doors.
Coalition Partners: Citizen Action of Hudson Valley, Community Voices Heard, Indivisible NY-19
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