Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ralph Northam is coming out forcefully against the new version of Trumpcare making its way back through the U.S. Senate.
Virginia stands to lose $1.2 billion in federal funding for its Medicaid program over the next seven years. It will cause premiums to skyrocket and slash Medicaid at the same time.
Northam issued the following statement on new healthcare legislation introduced by Senators Cassidy and Graham:
“This is the latest attempt by Senate Republicans to jam Trumpcare down the throats of the American people, despite the similarly disastrous results. Because they weren’t able to get their foolhardy and cruel attempts to pass the Senate, they went back to the drawing board. However, what they came back with has the same problems.
“This is the same pathetic attempt to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and leave folks with coverage that costs more and covers less. No one should be one medical illness away from financial demise in the richest country in the world. Rather than engaging in a bipartisan, public negotiation to stabilize and fix the Affordable Care Act, Republicans are resorting to the underhanded, deliberate sabotage of the insurance market and gambling with people’s lives.
“As a doctor, I took an oath to do no harm. This bill doesn’t meet that test. It threatens protections in place for Virginians with pre-existing conditions and again, puts essential benefits at risk, all in the name of a tax cut for the richest Americans. We will not stand for this, and as governor, I’ll continue fighting to ensure that every Virginian has access to affordable, quality healthcare. I hope Ed Gillespie joins me in coming out against this bill that would hurt Virginia’s economy and Virginians’ health.”
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