For Immediate Release
Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Lindsey O. Graham (R-SC), Dean Heller (R-NV), and Ron Johnson (R-WI) released new legislation that proposes to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The proposed amendment caps Medicaid funding and rolls it into block-grants for states; allows states to waive critical protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and threatens the provision of essential health benefits. It also drastically cuts funding for Medicaid expansion and for the financial assistance that helps low and middle-income families afford coverage; and restricts access to comprehensive reproductive health care.
In contrast, the ACA provides a healthcare lifeline to 9.5 million women who could not otherwise afford health insurance. The ACA includes coverage, affordability, and accessibility provisions that are critical to women’s health, and has been particularly beneficial for women of color, whose uninsured rates have dropped dramatically.
STATEMENT BY YWCA USA INTERIM CEO CASEY HARDEN
“The Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson legislation released today is a remix of the dangerous public policy we have seen in other efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Any health care legislation must protect the gains that women, girls, and communities of color have already made with the ACA. The current proposed legislation would exacerbate remaining inequities and create new ones. Millions of Americans who have found relief from the ACA cannot afford for policies to regress.”
About YWCA USA
YWCA USA is on a mission to eliminate racism, empower women, stand up for social justice, help families, and strengthen communities. We are one of the oldest and largest women’s organizations in the nation, serving over 2 million women, girls, and their families.
YWCA has been at the forefront of the most pressing social movements for more than 150 years — from voting rights to civil rights, from affordable housing to pay equity, from violence prevention to health care reform. Today, we combine programming and advocacy in order to generate institutional change in three key areas: racial justice and civil rights; empowerment and economic advancement of women and girls; and health and safety of women and girls.
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