Call 866-426-2631
to make your voice heard.
As introduced,
the American Health Care Act would profoundly reduce coverage for millions of
Americans—including many low-income and disabled individuals who rely on
Medicaid—and increase out-of-pocket costs for the sickest and oldest among us.
Recent changes to the AHCA are alarming; these changes include allowing states
to waive the requirement for essential health benefits, which could deny
patients the care and treatment they need to treat their conditions.
Another change
allows states to waive protections against health status rating. Weakening
these rules would enable insurers to charge higher prices to people with
pre-existing conditions, possibly making insurance unaffordable for those who
need it most.
States that
waive health status rating protections would be required to set up a high risk
sharing program, which may include a high-risk pool. Offering these risk
sharing mechanisms as an alternative to affordable health insurance is not a
viable option, particularly high-risk pools. Previous state high risk pools
resulted in higher premiums, long waiting lists and inadequate coverage.
Weakening
protections in favor of high-risk pools would also undermine the ban on
discrimination based on health status. The individuals and families we
represent cannot go back to a time when people with pre-existing conditions
could be denied coverage or forced to choose between purchasing basic
necessities and affording their health care coverage. Given these factors, we
oppose the latest draft of the AHCA. We urge Members of Congress to reject this
legislation.
For more than 60 years, Presbyterian General Assemblies have
been calling for reform of the U.S. health system, urging the establishment of
a national medical plan that will ensure universal health coverage for all
persons residing in the United States. In 1988, the Assembly wrote, “Jesus’
command to love our neighbor requires persons with plentiful health resources
both to comprehend the condition of those persons without basic health care and
to share the means to health.” In other words, it is our collective
responsibility as a community, and as a nation, to make sure that all people
have access to the means to good health – that is, access to quality,
affordable, comprehensive health coverage.
Join our National Call-In Day: Call your
representative at 866-426-2631 make your voice heard and oppose the
cruel new health care bill.
Sample
Script:
As
a Presbyterian, I urge Representative _____ to vote NO on the American Health
Care Act.
1) The Presbyterian Church has long viewed healthcare as a moral issue
2)
I am are especially concerned with the 880 billion in cuts to Medicaid
contained in this bill. If this bill is passed an estimated thousands of people
in this district will lose lifesaving Medicaid coverage.
4)
Restructuring Medicaid, a program that covers over 70 million people, and
ending the Medicaid expansion will end affordable coverage for millions of
low-income Americans – making it even harder for them to put food on the table
each day.
I
forcefully oppose the AHCA and strongly urge Representative _____ to vote
against it.
