Sen. Shaheen Issues Statement on Latest Senate Republican Healthcare Repeal Bill

WASHINGTON, July 13 -- The office of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., issued the following statement after Senate Republican leadership announced further revisions to their legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act:

"Senate Republican leaders are not listening to the American people.

"The fundamentals of this repeal bill have not changed: it would drive up premium costs, eliminate protections for pre-existing conditions, leave millions of working families without coverage, and would undermine our efforts in New Hampshire to combat the opioid epidemic. This legislation still decimates Medicaid and the program's expansion, which has been a critical tool to providing more substance misuse treatment in New Hampshire, and supports thousands of Granite State children and seniors in nursing homes. The additional funding in this bill for the opioid epidemic doesn't come close to compensating for the treatment resources that this same bill eliminates.

"This bill still eliminates funding for Planned Parenthood, jeopardizing access to vital primary and preventative care services that more than 12,000 Granite State women rely on to live healthy lives, care for their families, and lead in the workforce. Once again, this legislation was an entirely partisan exercise, negotiated behind closed doors with no effort to include input from the other side of the aisle.

"I will continue to fight this reckless repeal effort and urge my Republican colleagues to work across the aisle to make needed fixes to the Affordable Care Act, not repeal it, so that more Americans have affordable, accessible healthcare."