At Hearing, Blumenthal Continues Campaign Against GOP Health Care Law

June 30--As Senate Republican leaders worked in Washington to convince their reluctant colleagues to vote to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, Sen. Richard Blumenthal returned to Connecticut Friday to continue rallying opposition.

At the Hartford Public Library, Blumenthal listened to more than 90 minutes of comments from those who said they would be harmed by the Republican health care bill, which includes deep cuts to Medicaid and rolls back other key provisions of Obamacare.

Sally Grossman of Windsor came up to the podium holding her months-old daughter, Sadie. She told Blumenthal and the audience how she applied for Medicaid in 2012 to get prenatal coverage when she found out she was pregnant with her son.

"I was completely covered for all my care, which means I was completely covered when I went into pre-term labor at 28 weeks. ... I received the best care possible and they successfully stopped the labor," Grossman said. "Nine weeks later, I gave birth to a perfectly healthy baby boy. There is no doubt in my mind that having Medicaid and maternity coverage allowed me to have a healthy baby."

Marilia Jose of Middlebury said her husband died when he was 40, leaving her and her three children to rely on Medicaid for their insurance coverage because she could not afford paying the premiums to continue coverage through his employer.

"Currently I work part-time in a school so I can be home more with my children after school," Jose said. "I do not receive health care benefits as a part-time employee, so my children and I are recipients of the state Medicaid HUSKY program and it is a lifeline for us. ... I am concerned that [cuts to] Medicaid funding could impact young widowed families like myself."

It was the third "emergency field hearing" Blumenthal has held on the Senate Republican health care bill. About 125 people turned up.

In Washington, Senate Republicans, led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, worked to revise their health care bill before an expected Senate vote after the July 4 recess. Meanwhile, on Friday President Donald Trump suggested an even more extreme option in a tweet -- just repeal the Affordable Care Act and worry about replacing it later.

Blumenthal told the crowd in Hartford their activism and the stories they were sharing -- many of which he has retold during speeches on the Senate floor, including Jose's -- were having an effect. He cited how Republican leaders postponed a vote this week on the bill.

"We had a reprieve, it's not a victory," Blumenthal said. "It's a reprieve, because today, or sometime very soon, Mitch McConnell is going to come forward with another proposal, which will be a clever, likely cunning concoction meant to in effect provide some sweeteners for members of his Republican caucus to make it more attractive to them."

A Quinnipiac Poll this week found little support for the Republican health care bill. More than half of voters -- 58 percent -- disapproved of the plan, with just 16 percent in favor. Approval among Republicans was 37 percent.

"Call it a dressed up retread of the last GOP health care plan, or simply a wolf in sheep's clothing. Americans aren't buying this latest version of the plan to kill Obamacare," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

According to an analysis by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's budget office, the original Senate Republican health care bill would have cost the state as much as $2.9 billion a year once it was fully implemented in 2026, largely due to changes to how Medicaid is funded.

"If this were to become law, Connecticut would face difficult decisions about how to live within the reduced federal resource," according to the analysis by the Office of Policy and Management.

At the request of Sen. Chris Murphy, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released an updated analysis this week that showed the 20-year impact of the Senate Republican health care legislation. By 2036, overall Medicaid spending would be reduced by 35 percent.

"This bill will financially ruin so many families in Connecticut that it's hard to fathom its impact," he said. "There's no tweak or amendment that would make this any more palatable for people."

Congress left Friday for their July 4 recess. Blumenthal and Murphy both called on advocates to remain loud and active during the holiday break.

Blumenthal said he'll hold another health care hearing next week and several members of Connecticut's House delegation have also announced town halls during the recess. Rep. John Larson and Rep. Jim Himes are planning events for Thursday evening. Himes' office said his town hall has already received more than 700 reservations.

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