Carney: Graham-Cassidy health bill ‘clearly the wrong direction’

Sept. 21--Gov. John Carney (D) on Thursday released the following statement on the Graham-Cassidy Health Care legislation in the U.S. Senate, which he said could cost Delaware more than $2 billion in federal funding reductions by 2026, cuts that would reduce access to quality health care and shift costs onto Delaware families and the state budget.

"This bill would be a disaster for Delaware seniors, Delawareans with disabilities, and children and adults in low-income households who depend on Medicaid as their connection to care. It would force our Medicaid program to limit eligibility, cut benefits or pay a far greater share of the cost for the Delawareans who are covered today. This bill also would eliminate the Affordable Care Act's federal assistance for individuals and families buying coverage on the Health Insurance Marketplace, raising premiums for most of the 27,000 Delawareans who get their coverage there. This bill is clearly the wrong direction for Delaware and the wrong direction for our country."

The proposed bill would repeal and replace the Affordable Health Care Act set in place by the Obama administration.

According to Fox News, the legislation if passed would implement a block grant program that gives funding to states, which would then have a wide leeway on how that money is spent.

It would also prevent Medicaid expansion, tax credits, employer mandates and cost-sharing subsidies, and would allow individual states to ease coverage requirements.

Proposed by Sens. Lindsey Graham, S.C. (R), and Bill Cassidy, La. (R), the bill has received support from president Donald Trump, as evidenced in a number of tweets over the past week.

In a tweet dated Sept 20, Trump noted he "would not sign Graham-Cassidy if it did not include coverage of pre-existing conditions. It does! A great Bill. Repeal & Replace."

In a statement, Cassidy said the proposal "spends less money than Obamacare. We eliminate the penalties paid by individuals and business which do not conform to Obamacare mandates."

While the bill faces much opposition from House Democrats, the lone holdout on the Republican side remains Arizona Senator John McCain, who told the Huffington Post earlier this week, "I don't want to have to just vote aye or no on what's one-fifth of the gross national product."

___

(c)2017 Dover Post, Del.

Visit Dover Post, Del. at www.doverpost.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.