MEDIA STATEMENT
April 27, 2017
Contact: Katie Reinisch, 303-653-1009, katie@progressive-promotions.com
Adam Fox, 303-839-1261, afox@cohealthinitiative.org
This statement can be attributed to Adam Fox of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative
and the Protect Our Care Colorado Coalition.
“Enough is enough already”
“Despite the fact that the majority of Americans opposed the failed House Republican ACA repeal bill, congressional Republicans have worked behind closed doors during the April recess to make this terrible bill even more extreme.”
“The latest proposed changes would not only strip coverage from at least 600,000 Coloradans, slash Colorado’s Medicaid funding by $14 billion by 2030 and increase costs for thousands of other Coloradans, it would also eviscerate protections for people with pre-existing conditions — protections Republicans including Congressmen Mike Coffman and Scott Tipton promised to keep. This will take us back to when people with preexisting conditions like cancer or diabetes or even allergies or asthma were unable to get health insurance and insurance plans failed to cover critical services. At the same time, the new plan creates a double standard as members of Congress and their staffers could keep these protections.”
“This latest proposal would hinge on high-risk pools or similar programs to provide care to people with pre-existing conditions. High-risk pools require insurers to discriminate against consumers with pre-existing conditions and don’t provide adequate or affordable coverage. Consumers in Colorado faced long waits to get covered and had to pay much higher premiums once they could get coverage. Colorado has been there and done that, and it doesn’t work.“
“Enough is enough already. Instead of sacrificing the health and health care of Americans for a massive tax cut for the top one percent, Congress should listen to their constituents and offer real solutions to improve our nation’s health care system. Trumpcare will only result in fewer people covered, increased costs, plans without basic benefits, and disastrous harm to Coloradans and our economy.”
Protect Our Care Colorado is a coalition of 44 organizations in Colorado advocating to protect the health care of Coloradans. To learn more the coalition, visit ProtectOurCareCo.org.