“Let’s be clear: Cramer voted to gut pre-existing conditions protections,” said Brad Woodhouse
Washington DC – During last night’s Senate debate between repeal cheerleader Kevin Cramer and health care champion Heidi Heitkamp, Kevin Cramer continued his lie about health care, stating he “‘has not and would not’ support any legislation that cuts guaranteed coverage for pre-existing conditions.” Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care, issued the following statement in response:
“Kevin Cramer’s desperately trying to hide the facts from North Dakota voters because so many of them say health care care and protecting pre-existing conditions are their top issues. Let’s be clear: Cramer voted to gut pre-existing conditions protections. He voted to allow insurance companies to charge more for pre-existing conditions, a surcharge that could have been in the tens of thousands of dollars and even six figures: up to $4,270 for asthma, $17,060 for pregnancy, $26,180 for rheumatoid arthritis and $140,510 for metastatic cancer. Make no mistake: Cramer wants nothing more than to roll back the clock on health care.”
Here’s the truth:
2017: Cramer Voted For AHCA. Cramer voted for passage of the American Health Care Act. [HR 1628, Roll Call Vote #256, 5/4/17]
Cramer Claimed To Have Read The Entire AHCA Bill. “I have read the 200-page bill in its entirety and debated nearly every section of it during a 27-hour hearing in the House Energy and Commerce Committee in March.” [Kevin Cramer Op-Ed, Dickinson Press, 5/18/17]
…Then Cramer Falsely Claimed AHCA Protected People With Pre-Existing Conditions. But the American Health Care Act weakens key protections of the Affordable Care Act and allowed states to eliminate community rating, meaning insurers would be able to charge people with pre-existing conditions more. This surcharge could be in the tens of thousands of dollars and even six figures: up to $4,270 for asthma, $17,060 for pregnancy, $26,180 for rheumatoid arthritis and $140,510 for metastatic cancer.
What Would AHCA Mean for North Dakota?
- In 2026, 30,100 North Dakotans would lose coverage under this bill.
- The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that the American Health Care Act would have raised premiums 20 percent in 2018.
- People in rural areas tend to face higher health costs, which is one of the reasons why the Affordable Care Act based the amount of premium tax credits in part on geographic location. The American Health Care Act does not, meaning people in rural areas would face higher costs. In North Dakota, 61 percent of marketplace consumers live in rural areas, and could see an average cost increase of $2,121.
- The negative economic impact of the American Health Care Act would cause 4,151 North Dakotans to lose their jobs by 2022.