For whatever reason, the Republican party in the United States is intent on keeping the U.S. last in health care among the developed world. Reported in the well-respected medical journal, The Lancet, the Healthcare Access and Quality Index rated the U.S. 35th, the bottom of all developed countries. In addition to all the well-developed European countries, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Singapore, Slovenia, Kuwait, and the Czech Republic are all ahead of the U.S. We’re also one of the few countries without universal health care, yet we spend more on healthcare than most countries.
And now we have another “last ditch” effort of the Republicans to destroy the ACA, in part because it’s called Obamacare, and anything Obama did is an anathema to them. The bill would remove protections for preexisting conditions, make serious cuts to Medicaid, end the Affordable Care Act’s tax credits and cost-sharing subsidies.
The net result, according to a Brookings Institution analysis is that 32 million more people will be uninsured by 2027, relative to the current baseline.
My Republican senator, Cory Gardner is voting for it, yet Colorado is projected to lose $6 billion under this proposal! Not to mention the 12.5 to 15% of our population with pre-existing conditions that would be at risk. Senator Gardner, for once think of your constituents NOT your party. Work across the aisle to fix the ACA, which, agreed has some problems, but not so much as to scrap it altogether!!
Here are some of the groups opposed to the Graham-Cassidy proposed bill!
- Adult Congenital Heart Association
- ALS Association
- Alzheimer’s Association
- Alzheimer’s Impact Movement
- American Cancer Society
- American College of Emergency Physicians
- American College of Physicians
- American College of Preventive Medicine
- American Diabetes Association
- American Academy of Family Physicians
- American Academy of Pediatrics
- American Cancer Society
- American College of Emergency Physicians
- American College of Physicians
- American College of Preventive Medicine
- American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
- American Diabetes Association
- America’s Essential Hospitals
- American Foundation for the Blind
- American Health Care Association
- America’s Health Insurance Plans
- American Heart Association
- American Hospital Association
- American Liver Foundation
- American Lung Association
- American Medical Association
- American Nurses Association
- American Osteopathic Association
- American Occupational Therapy Association
- American Psychiatric Association
- American Psychological Association
- American Public Health Association
- American Society for Addiction Medicine
- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
- Amputee Coalition
- The Arc
- Arthritis Foundation
- Association for Community Affiliated Plans
- Association of American Medical Colleges
- Association of University Centers on Disabilities
- Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America
- Autism Society
- Autism Speaks
- Autistic Self Advocacy Network
- Big Cities Health Coalition
- Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
- Catholic Health Association
- Children’s Hospital Association
- Center for Medicare Advocacy
- Coalition to Stop Opioid Overdose
- Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities
- COPD Foundation
- Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
- Family Voices
- Federation of American Hospitals
- HIV Medicine Association
- Infectious Diseases Society of America
- JDRF
- Lutheran Services in America
- Kaiser Permanente
- March of Dimes
- Medicare Rights Center
- National Association of Medicaid Directors
- National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
- National Association of School Nurses
- National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship
- National Down Syndrome Congress
- National Health Council
- National Institute for Reproductive Health
- National Kidney Foundation
- National Multiple Sclerosis Society
- National Organization for Rare Diseases
- Planned Parenthood
- Public Health Institute
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
- Trust for America’s Health
- WomenHeart
Compiled by The Washington Post.
