Senate Version of Trumpcare Is Mean, Too

WASHINGTON, June 22 -- The Alliance for Retired Americans issued the following statement by Executive Director Richard Fiesta in response to the Senate releasing its plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act with the American Health Care Act:

"We all heard President Trump say he hoped the Senate version of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) would be less 'mean' than the House version. Today, we finally got to see the secret Senate version, and it is still 'mean' by any reasonable test.

"No wonder Majority Leader McConnell hid this dangerous plan for so long. It will cause harm to millions of older Americans, all for the sake of tax breaks for the wealthy.

"The Senate bill decimates Medicaid. In this respect, it is worse than the House bill, enacting even deeper long-term cuts. Medicaid covers long-term care for millions of seniors and health care for people with disabilities, making this bill devastating to older and vulnerable Americans.

"President Trump promised on the campaign trail that he would not cut Medicaid and Medicare. He should promise to veto a bill that does not keep that promise.

"The 4.4 million members of the Alliance for Retired Americans stand fervently against this legislation and urge senators to vote 'no' for the sake of seniors, the disabled and millions of working families."