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Senator Bob Casey, Protect Our Care Denounce Trump’s Health Care Sabotage On Press Call Ahead of His PA Rally

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May 20, 2019
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Press call audio available HERE

Washington, DC – Ahead of President Trump’s Pennsylvania rally today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) along with Protect Our Care and Pennsylvania health care advocate Amy Raslevich held a press call to denounce Trump for his continued attacks on American health care. On the call, Senator Casey made clear that Trump’s disastrous Texas lawsuit would decimate Americans’ health care and put the lives of millions of Pennsylvanians at risk. Speakers on the call also discussed a new report on rural health care from Protect Our Care that illustrates the damage that Trump’s health care sabotage will do to Pennsylvania’s rural communities.

“The Trump Administration’s health care agenda betrays rural communities, plain and simple,” Senator Casey said. “From working to end protections for those with preexisting conditions to decimating Medicaid, this Administration is a 24/7 health care wrecking ball for everyday Americans.”

“If Trump’s Texas lawsuit goes through, it will devastate my family,” said health care advocate Amy Raslevich. “When I got my breast cancer diagnosis in 2017, my world stopped. Even with great health insurance, my family racked up nearly half a million dollars in medical bills. I was exceptionally lucky that our health care laws protected me from being locked out of insurance due to my pre-existing condition and eliminated lifetime limits on my spending.”

“President Trump’s war on health care, including his Texas lawsuit that would strip protections from millions of people with pre-existing conditions and gut Medicaid will have devastating consequences for Pennsylvanians, especially those living in rural communities,” said Protect Our Care executive director Brad Woodhouse. “Pennsylvania voters are rejecting Trump’s war on health care, and we are thankful to have leaders like Senator Casey fighting against his reckless acts of sabotage and leading the charge to defend Medicaid and ensure Americans with pre-existing conditions have the protections they need.”  

BACKGROUND:

By The Numbers: Rural Health In Pennsylvania

  • 12 percent of Pennsylvania adults living in rural areas are uninsured, compared to 9 percent living in nonrural areas.
  • Since the Affordable Care Act, the uninsured rate has fallen by 4 percent in rural parts of Pennsylvania.
  • 22 percent of Pennsylvanians living in rural areas have health coverage through Medicaid.
  • The Affordable Care Act led to a $224 million reduction in Pennsylvania hospitals’ uncompensated care costs. Between 2013 and 2015, Pennsylvania hospitals’ uncompensated care costs decreased by $224 million, or roughly 25 percent.
  • By expanding Medicaid, Pennsylvania helped 758,200 newly eligible Pennsylvanians gain coverage through the program.
  • In Pennsylvania, where lawmakers expanded Medicaid, two rural hospitals have closed since 2010, both of which closed before the state expanded its program. These hospitals include:

Mid-Valley Hospital (Closed in 2014)
Saint Catherine Medical Center Fountain Springs (Closed in 2012)

If the Affordable Care Act is struck down:

 

 

  • GONE: Protections for 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions, including 5,329,500 in Pennsylvania. The uninsured rate will increase by 65 percent.
  • GONE: Medicaid expansion, which covers 800,900 Pennsylvanians.
  • GONE: 275,000 Pennsuylvania seniors will have to pay more for prescription drugs because the Medicare ‘donut hole’ will be reopened.
  • GONE: Nearly 90,000 adult children in Pennsylvania will no longer be able to stay on their parents’ insurance.
  • GONE: Insurance companies will be able to charge women 50 percent more than men.
  • GONE: Financial assistance that helps 9 million people purchase health care in the marketplace.
  • GONE: Key support for rural hospitals. As Americans lose coverage, already struggling hospitals will be hit even harder as their costs increase.
  • GONE: Ban on insurance companies having lifetime caps on coverage.
  • GONE: Requirements that insurance companies cover prescription drugs and maternity care.

 

 

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