Washington, D.C. — Neera Tanden, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement in response to Senate Republicans’ introduction of a new version of the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA):
The introduction of the Senate’s “new” bill is an embarrassing attempt by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and President Donald Trump to obscure the truth: This is the same terrible bill that strips coverage from millions of Americans to provide tax breaks to insurance companies, drug manufacturers, and the wealthy. The new bill released today remains cruel and immoral and will have the same impact on American families as the House bill by ripping health care coverage from millions, increasing costs for individuals already facing health challenges, slashing Medicaid coverage for low-income Americans, and bringing back lifetime or annual limits for millions of folks with employer-based plans.
The math doesn’t lie: No changes around the edges can fix a bill that cuts more than $1 trillion in funding to help people get coverage. Medicaid will still be cut by more than $700 billion in the first decade and then by up to $2 trillion in the following decade. While Trumpcare sends costs skyrocketing for working families, older Americans, and individuals with pre-existing conditions, the rich stand to gain a tax cut via tax shelters posing as health savings accounts—a scheme that experts confirm mostly benefits high-income people.
The American people will continue to call out this morally bankrupt bill and demand a bipartisan fix to the Affordable Care Act. It’s time that Republicans reach out to Democrats to discuss policies they can agree on to improve the markets, rather than seeking to destroy our current system and leave tens of millions with no coverage and no hope.
For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, please contact Devon Kearns at 202.741.6290 or [email protected].