WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement on the U.S. House of Representatives’ American Health Care Act (AHCA), also known as “TrumpCare.” Despite bipartisan opposition, deep cuts to Medicaid, and changes to the bill that would eviscerate protections for Americans with preexisting conditions and send health care costs skyrocketing for tens of millions of Americans, including some with employer-provided coverage, the House passed the bill this afternoon, sending it to the Senate for consideration.
“In my eight years in the Senate and nearly 20 years in public service, I have never seen a worse bill than this one. TrumpCare 2.0 is even more damaging than TrumpCare 1.0. This bill keeps all the most harmful features of TrumpCare 1.0, stripping coverage for 24 million Americans and gutting Medicaid.
“It then adds even more damage, throwing Americans with preexisting conditions out in the cold. If you or your loved one has cancer, diabetes, asthma, or even an old sports injury, this bill could make it extremely expensive, if not impossible, to get health care.
“In addition, TrumpCare 2.0 destroys the promise to cover essential benefits, enabling insurance companies to impose a pregnancy tax or deny maternity care altogether. It slams the door on the millions of women who rely on Planned Parenthood for their reproductive care access to their provider of choice.
“The Republican TrumpCare 2.0 bill threatens Americans with huge increases in out-of-pocket costs. This bill destroys health care for millions of America’s struggling and working families. And for what? To pay for enormous tax cuts for the richest Americans.
“Republicans rushed to pass this bill before the Congressional Budget Office could score it. That fact tells you everything you need to know about the merits of TrumpCare. There’s a reason it’s opposed by the AARP, the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association, the American Medical Association, the American Nurses Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and dozens of other health care groups.
“Republican meddling in our health care system is already causing chaos and rising costs, and the TrumpCare uncertainty is making it worse. The fate of American health care now rests in the hands of the Senate. I urge my Senate colleagues, regardless of party affiliation, to do the right thing — and make sure this bill dies a quick and merciless death.”
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