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Washington, DC — Today, Rep. Abigail Spanberger (VA-07) along with Reps. Lauren Underwood (IL-14) and Kim Schrier (WA-08) introduced a resolution demanding that the Department of Justice defend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in court and drop the lawsuit to repeal the health care law and protections relied on by millions of Americans as the nation faces the worsening coronavirus pandemic. Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement in response: 

“This resolution, championed by Rep. Spanberger along with Reps. Underwood and Schrier, would help to protect 23 million Americans from having their health care ripped away in the middle of a pandemic. Even as the nation faces the worst public health crisis in a century, the president and his Republican allies are trying to overturn our health care law before the Supreme Court, and, if successful, would reverse the enormously successful expansion of Medicaid and end protections for more than 135 million with pre-existing conditions, including every American who had or will have COVID-19. Rep. Spanberger’s resolution sends a clear message that enough is enough — it’s time for President Trump to drop this senseless lawsuit and quit playing games with Americans’ health care.”

As Part of His Failed Coronavirus Response That Has Devastated Seniors, President Trump Is Now Pursuing Reckless Cuts to Medicare

From the beginning of his presidency, President Trump has waged a war on seniors. Now, Trump is proposing a permanent cut to payroll taxes–a move that would decimate Medicare as the nation is still reeling from the coronavirus crisis. Trump’s latest attack on Medicare is part of a much larger war on seniors health care: Between undermining Medicaid enrollment to proposing steep Medicare budget cuts to attempting to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), President Trump has done nothing but threaten seniors’ coverage and access to care. Trump’s efforts to overturn the ACA threatens to raise seniors’ drug costs and impose an “age tax” that would make them pay more for care. 

As the nation is continuing to battle a once-in-a-generation health care crisis, it has never been more clear that President Trump’s war on seniors’ health care is especially dangerous. 80 percent of U.S. coronavirus deaths have been among people aged 65 and older, and more than 60,000 people have died in nursing homes nationwide. Despite Trump’s repeated promises to protect Medicare, his actions speak louder than his words. 

“President Trump’s proposal to permanently cut payroll taxes – which would decimate Medicare in the process – is just the latest salvo in his war on seniors,” said Brad Woodhouse, Executive Director of Protect Our Care. “From the start of his administration, President Trump has undermined seniors’ health by fighting to undermine Medicaid enrollment, proposing steep funding cuts to Medicare, and seeking to overturn the Affordable Care Act which would bring back the ‘age tax’ and raise seniors’ drug prices. Seniors are already bearing the brunt of the Trump administration’s disastrous response to the coronavirus and destroying Medicare would leave an already vulnerable community out in the cold.”

Here Are The Top Ways Trump Has Sabotaged Medicare: 

As Part Of His Failed Coronavirus Response, Trump Is Now Pursuing Permanent Payroll Tax Cuts That Would Decimate The Medicare Trust Fund. Trump signed an executive order that attempts to defer payroll tax payments from September through December for many workers, and he promised to make these cuts permanent if he wins re-election in November. While the legality of this proposal remains murky, it is clear that the impact on Medicare would be devastating if it takes effect. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that the pandemic could already cause the Medicare Part A trust fund to become insolvent by 2023. Other experts say this fund could run out of money as early as 2022 as a result of fewer people paying payroll taxes amid record levels of unemployment. An even bigger cut to payroll taxes would undoubtedly result in more uncertainty for millions of seniors relying on Medicare for health care. AARP blasted Trump’s proposal, warning that “this approach exacerbates people’s already-heightened fears and concerns about their financial and retirement security.“ David Shulkin, former Veterans Affairs Secretary and health policy fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, said we “can’t afford” another crisis during the pandemic, adding that “if anything, we should be taking actions to shore up the solvency of Medicare and not be offering solutions that are going to make the problem much more critical.” 

Trump Has Repeatedly Made Clear That If He Wins Re-Election In 2020, He’s Going To Cut Medicare. Even before the current crisis, in January 2020, Trump made it clear he remained open to slashing benefits for vital programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security during an interview with CNBC at the World Economic Forum.

Trump Has Proposed Steep Cuts To Medicare In His Budget Requests. Despite repeatedly promising not to cut Medicare, Trump’s 2020 budget proposal would have cut more than $800 billion from Medicare over a decade, or roughly 10 percent of Medicare’s funding over the next ten years to help pay for tax cuts to insurance and big drug companies. Most recently, Trump’s 2021 budget would reduce Medicare spending by $500 billion, in addition to more than $1 trillion in cuts to the ACA and Medicaid. 

President Trump And His Republican Allies In Congress Will Not Allow Medicare To Negotiate For Lower Drug Prices Even As The Cost Of Drugs Skyrocket. Though 88 percent of Americans support allowing the federal government to negotiate drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries, Republicans refuse to let Medicare negotiate drug prices In December 2019, House Democrats passed the Lower Drug Costs Now Act to reduce the price of drugs for every American family by allowing the government to directly negotiate for lower drug prices for people with private insurance as well as Medicare. The bill would save households $158 billion over seven years. Despite his multiple campaign promises to let Medicare negotiate, Trump opposes the House’s plan. 

Seniors Stand To Lose If The ACA Is Overturned. If The ACA Is Struck Down In Court:

Trump is backing a lawsuit that would destroy the health care law and result in devastating coverage losses and higher costs for seniors and older adults. 

Without The ACA, People Over The Age of 50 Would Face A $4,000 “Age Tax.” If the Republican lawsuit to overturn the ACA is successful, insurance companies would be able charge people over 50 much more than younger people. The Affordable Care Act limited the amount older people could be charged to three times more than younger people. If insurers were to charge five times more, as was proposed in the Republican repeal bills, that would add an average “age tax” of $4,124 for a 60-year-old in the individual market, according to the AARP.

Trump’s Lawsuit Would Raise Drug Costs For Millions Of Seniors On Medicare. Thanks to the Republican lawsuit, seniors could have to pay more for prescription drugs because the Medicare “donut” hole got reopened. From 2010 to 2016, “More than 11.8 million Medicare beneficiaries have received discounts over $26.8 billion on prescription drugs – an average of $2,272 per beneficiary,” according to a January 2017 Centers on Medicare and Medicaid Services report.

We’ve heard it before: President Trump wants to lower the cost of prescription drugs. In reality, Trump and his Republican allies have done everything possible to protect the rigged system for drug companies. In 2017, America’s largest pharmaceutical companies got a huge tax break from the Trump tax bill, and they have continued to line the pockets of shareholders and CEOs while raising prices for everyday Americans. 

Trump has repeatedly promised to address rising drug costs, but nearly all of his proposals have been put on hold or blocked by the courts. Without evidence, Trump has claimed that drug prices have gone down under his administration. During his 2020 State of the Union address, Trump claimed that “I was pleased to announce last year that, for the first time in 51 years, the cost of prescription drugs actually went down.” This has been debunked by multiple independent fact-checkers. 

Trump had four years to take action on drug prices, but instead he did nothing. Now, as the nation continues to battle the coronavirus crisis and Trump trails former Vice President Joe Biden in the polls, he has returned to the empty promises, cognizant that health care remains the top issue heading into the election. Meanwhile, even as the nation faces an unprecedented health care crisis, drug companies have continued to hike prices and take advantage of the system. At a time when controlling the cost of prescription drugs has never been more critical, Trump’s actions speak louder than his words.

KEY POINTS

Prescription drugs are prohibitively expensive for many Americans. While drug companies have continued to raise prices, Trump rewarded them with massive tax breaks and now opposes giving Medicare the power to negotiate for lower drug costs – the single most effective measure to do so. 

• President Trump gave drug companies billions of dollars in tax breaks while they raked in massive profits and raised prices on Americans. 
• Drug prices have continued to soar under President Trump.
• Trump opposes the single most important thing you can do to lower drug prices — giving Medicare the power to negotiate for lower prices.
• Trump has repeatedly talked about lowering prices based on costs in other countries, but independent experts have said his proposals would be ineffective.

Polling Reveals That Worries About Drug Pricing Are Only Getting Worse Under Trump

• Two-thirds of adults report that prescription drug prices have increased under Trump. This includes 81% of Democrats, 70% of independents, and 47% of Republicans.
• A November 2019 Gallup survey found that 58 million Americans were unable to afford prescribed drugs at least one time in the previous 12 months. 
• Nearly 1 in 4 Americans (24%) have difficulty affording prescribed medications. 
• Costs are of particular concern to those in fair or poor health — 49 percent of those in fair or poor health reported problems affording prescribed medications in 2019. Other groups more likely to report difficulties affording their medications include people with annual incomes less than $40,000 and people taking four or more drugs every month. 
• 30% of 50-64 year olds reported problems affording drugs.
• A July 2020 Gallup survey found reports of medication insecurity have risen by “statistically significant levels,” rising from 19 percent of adults in early 2019 to 24 percent in 2020.
• Nearly 9 in 10 Americans fear that drug companies will use the pandemic as an excuse to raise prices.
• Polls consistently show nearly nine in 10 Americans support allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices. A recent Gallup poll found that 88 Percent support government negotiation to control the cost of Covid-19 treatment. 

Trump’s Failed Record and Broken Promises on Drug Pricing

Drug Prices Have Soared Under Trump. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimated that list prices for 20 of the top 25 drugs covered by Medicare Part D saw price increases between three and nine times the rate of inflation in 2017. A report from AARP found that the annual cost for 267 brand name medicines commonly used by seniors increased by 5.8 percent in 2018, more than twice the rate of inflation. In 2019, more than 4,000 drugs saw price increases averaging 21 percent according to Rx Savings Solutions. 

Drug prices are steadily rising even as the nation fights the coronavirus crisis: according to an analysis from GoodRx, pharmaceutical companies have logged more than 800 price increases in 2020 so far. A new report from IQVIA confirms Americans’ spending on prescription medicines continues to rise, with total out-of-pocket expenses increasing from $74 billion in 2015 to $82 billion in 2019. 

Empowered By Trump, Drug Companies Are Already Taking Advantage Of The Coronavirus Crisis. Gilead Sciences sought rare disease status for its coronavirus treatment Remdesivir, which is potentially worth millions in tax breaks. The company only rescinded its request for exclusivity after a public outcry. Gilead later set remdesivir’s price at $3,120 for a course of treatment –while charging other countries $2,340– after U.S. taxpayers spent $99 million on its development. Data from GoodRx revealed that other drugs treating respiratory illnesses have already seen above-average price increases in 2020. One drug company even tripled the price of a medication as it pursued coronavirus use. Unsurprisingly, drug companies working on Covid-19 treatments and vaccines have boosted their lobbying expenditures during the pandemic. 

Americans Pay More For Drugs Than Do People In Any Other Country. At $1,229 per capita, people in the U.S. spend more on pharmaceuticals per capita than do people in any other country in the world. British researchers found that U.S. prices were consistently higher than in other European markets, six times higher than in Brazil, and 16 times higher than in the lowest-price country, which was usually India.

Drug Companies Are Engaging In The Dangerous Practice Of Price-Gouging — Pursuing Massive Profits To The Detriment Of People Who Need Their Medication To Survive. In September 2018, Nostrum chief executive Nirmal Mulye defended his choice to raise the price of an antibiotic from $474.75 to $2,392 a bottle, saying he had “moral requirement…to sell the product for the highest price.” In 2017, Mylan, the company that made the EpiPen, came under fire for charging $609 for a box of two devices even though each only contained about $1 worth of the drug epinephrine. The cost of the four most popular types of insulin have tripled over the past decade, with the average price per month rising to $450 in 2016. As costs continue to rise, as many as one in four of the 7.5 million Americans dependent on insulin are skipping or skimping on doses.

A 2019 report from the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review found that price hikes on seven prominent drugs cost Americans more than $5 billion over two years. Arthritis drug Humira topped the list, costing Americans an excess of $1.9 billion in co-pays, out-of-pocket costs, and premiums between 2016 and 2018. 

Pharmaceutical Companies Are Raking It In

Pharmaceutical Companies Reaped Huge Benefits From The Trump Tax Bill. The Trump tax scam means billions of dollars in tax breaks for pharmaceutical companies. The year after the tax bill passed, the largest drug companies made $50 billion in profits and subsequently used their savings to invest billions more in stock buybacks for their shareholders. According to Axios, the year after the Republican tax law went into effect, the 12 largest American pharmaceutical companies spent $69.1 billion on stock buybacks, compared to investing $65.9 billion on research and development. 

Drug Companies Continue To See Massive Profits. Pharmaceutical companies raked in more than $30 billion in profits in the third quarter of 2018, with Pfizer alone bringing in $4.1 billion — the highest of any publicly traded health care company. Of the 19 companies that tallied at least $1 billion of third-quarter profit, 14 were drug companies. These trends continued into 2019, with Axios reporting “quarter after quarter after quarter shows drugmakers continue to wield the highest profit margins in the industry,” adding that “nothing has fundamentally changed for drug companies even though the Trump administration is tinkering with ideas on how to lower what people pay for their prescriptions.” 

Even in the middle of the pandemic, the pharmaceutical industry is still thriving, with nine of the 10 biggest 2020 Q2 health care industry profit margins belonging to drug companies. And drug companies working on coronavirus treatments and vaccines are already reaping the benefits: after starting its late-stage trial for a coronavirus vaccine, Moderna’s stock soared by 9 percent, raising the company’s value to $31 billion despite having no FDA-approved drugs on the market. 

CEOs And Executives Are Cashing In. According to a 2017 Axios study, the CEOs of 70 of the largest U.S. health care companies cumulatively have earned $9.8 billion since 2010. CEOs took home nearly 11 percent more money on average every year since 2010 — far more than the wage growth of nearly all other workers. In 2017 alone, 30 health care executives made a combined $976 million.

According to the New York Times, senior executives and board members from at least 11 pharmaceutical and medical companies have been reaping the benefits of potential coronavirus treatments and vaccines, selling shares worth well over $1 billion since March. Top executives and board members from Regeneron sold $700 million in stock since announcing a collaboration with the federal government to develop a Covid-19 treatment. Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel more than tripled the number of his company shares to be sold days after the company announced positive early results for its coronavirus vaccine, raising his stake in the company to about $3 billion, compared to $600 million at the beginning of the year.

Republicans Are Making It Worse

Republicans Refuse To Let Medicare Negotiate For Lower Drug Prices. Though 88 percent of Americans support allowing the federal government to negotiate drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries, Republicans refuse to let Medicare negotiate drug prices. In December 2019, House Democrats passed the Lower Drug Costs Now Act to reduce the price of drugs for every American family by allowing the government to directly negotiate for lower drug prices for people with private insurance as well as Medicare. The bill would save households $158 billion over seven years. Despite his multiple campaign promises to let Medicare negotiate, Trump opposes the House’s plan. 

Trump Installed Big Pharma Executives In Key Administration Posts. President Trump installed a former Eli Lily executive, Alex Azar, as his secretary of Health and Human Services and his appointment of Scott Gottlieb at FDA was described as “music to pharma’s ears.” Other pharma lobbyists writing Trump’s health policy include chief of staff at FDA, Keagan Lenihan, who joined the administration after lobbying for the drug distribution giant McKesson, former Gilead lobbyist, Joe Grogan, who served as a senior advisor on health policy until his resignation in April 2020. 

Trump’s Proposals Always Fall Far Short Of His Promises. President Trump repeatedly promised that he would allow Medicare to use its buying power to negotiate drug prices directly with suppliers, but after meeting with pharmaceutical executives early in 2017, Trump abandoned that pledge, calling it “price fixing” that would hurt “smaller, younger companies.” In 2018, Trump released a “blueprint” to lower drug prices, but the main proposals have been put on hold or blocked by the courts. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals recently struck down Trump’s rule to require drugmakers to disclose prices in television ads. Trump also announced that drug makers agreed to participate in a voluntary program to limit insulin costs for certain Medicare beneficiaries, which officials acknowledged could actually result in higher premiums for beneficiaries and taxpayers. 

Trump recently signed four executive orders aimed at reducing drug costs, but experts were quick to point out that the measures were very limited and none were immediately enforceable. Pharma CEOS have themselves said they are “not expecting any impact” from these executive orders. 

The Administration Has Consistently Advocated For The Repeal Of The Affordable Care Act, Including Eliminating The Requirement That Insurance Companies Cover Prescription Drugs. After failing to repeal the health care law, Trump took his war on America’s health care to a new level and went to court seeking to strike down the entire Affordable Care Act. If President Trump and Republicans have their way, 23 million Americans will lose their insurance coverage, 135 million Americans with pre-existing conditions will be stripped of their protections, and costs will go up for millions. The ACA includes several measures to lower drug costs, including its requirement that insurance companies cover patients’ prescription drugs, rules that increase competition in the prescription drug market and help Americans access cheaper drugs, and consumer protections that prohibit drug companies from paying off doctors behind closed doors to influence the drugs they prescribe to patients. And without the ACA, nearly 12 million seniors will have to pay more for prescription drugs because the Medicare ‘donut hole’ will be reopened.

Advocates for Medicaid Expansion Are Now 6 for 6 in Statewide Votes to Expand the Program Since Trump Took Office

Yesterday, Missouri voters passed a ballot measure to expand Medicaid in the state, becoming the second red state to approve expansion during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The Show Me State made health care access a reality for more than 230,000 Missourians, in addition to many who lost health care coverage during the pandemic. Despite Missouri being a deep red state, voters chose to expand Medicaid and reject President Trump’s repeated attempts to undermine the Affordable Care Act, leaving Republicans 0-6 when Medicaid expansion is on the ballot and voters are given the chance to expand access to health care in their states.

HEADLINES

Forbes: Medicaid Expansion Wins In Red State Missouri

The Kansas City Star: Missouri Votes to Expand Medicaid Over Objections of State’s Republican Leaders

The Hill: Missouri Votes for Medicaid Expansion Over GOP Governor’s Objections

Vox: Missouri Approves Medicaid Expansion Ballot Initiative, Extending Coverage to 200,000 People

Extended coverage of Missouri’s vote to approve Medicaid expansion:

Forbes: Medicaid Expansion Wins In Red State Missouri. “The Missouri effort to become the 38th state to expand Medicaid is just the latest momentum in Republican-leaning states where lawmakers and governors have historically blocked efforts to expand health insurance coverage to more poor Americans under the ACA…the effort to expand Medicaid in Missouri to an estimated 217,000 to people in the state comes as cases of the coronavirus strain Covid-19 surge and thousands in the state are losing their jobs and healthcare coverage. Medicaid expansion is expected to enable more Missourians to become eligible for such health coverage as unemployment rises and people lose their employer-based health benefits.” [Forbes, 8/5/20]

The Kansas City Star: Missouri Votes to Expand Medicaid Over Objections of State’s Republican Leaders. “Missouri became the 38th state to expand Medicaid eligibility on Tuesday, with voters shrugging off Republican opposition to narrowly approve a constitutional amendment providing health coverage to more than 200,000 uninsured Missourians…Republicans have blocked Medicaid expansion in Missouri for years, which created a coverage gap where more than 200,000 Missourians earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little for subsidies to offset the cost of private insurance through the federal Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare.” [The Kansas City Star, 8/4/20]

Politico: Missouri Voters Latest to Approve Medicaid Expansion. “A winning streak: Missouri becomes the sixth Republican-led state where voters have defied GOP leaders to expand Medicaid, just weeks after Oklahoma voters narrowly backed the program. No state has ever voted down such a ballot initiative in recent years, underscoring the popularity of Medicaid expansion even in parts of the country hostile to Obamacare. The Missouri vote came as the state has faced one of the sharpest increases in coronavirus infections and now reports on average over 1,200 daily new cases, almost three times more than a month ago.” [Politico, 8/5/20] 

Vox: Missouri Approves Medicaid Expansion Ballot Initiative, Extending Coverage to 200,000 People. “The vote passed over the objections of Missouri’s Republican governor, Mike Parson, and conservative interest groups. Bills had been introduced in previous legislative sessions that would have expanded Medicaid, but they were ignored by the GOP majority. This makes Missouri the 39th state to expand Medicaid through Obamacare; all the holdouts have been driven by GOP opposition to the 2010 health care law.” [Vox, 8/5/20] 

The Hill: Missouri Votes for Medicaid Expansion Over GOP Governor’s Objections. “Voters in deep-red Missouri narrowly approved Medicaid expansion on Tuesday over the objections of Republican state leaders. The vote makes Missouri the 38th state to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, and the sixth state in three years to pass it by ballot measure, a blow to the Trump administration’s anti-ObamaCare agenda…The state is solidly conservative, as President Trump won 57 percent of the vote in 2016. Republicans, who have supermajorities in both the state House and Senate, were opposed to the measure, as was Gov. Mike Parson (R) who is up for re-election.” [The Hill, 8/5/20] 

Axios: Missouri Voters Approve Medicaid Expansion. “Some 230,000 Missourians will benefit from the measure, which marks the sixth time voters have gone against a resistant Republican-led Legislature, Politico notes. It’s the 38th state to back the expansion under former President Obama’s signature health care law, AP notes. It comes amid the backdrop of a pandemic that’s seen over 54,000 cases and more than 1,200 deaths from COVID-19 in Missouri.” [Axios, 8/5/20] 

Associated Press: Missouri Approves Medicaid Expansion; Parson, Galloway Win. “Voters on Tuesday made Missouri the 38th state to approve expanding Medicaid health care coverage to thousands more low-income adults. Support for the constitutional amendment means that as many as 250,000 more adults could choose to be covered by government health insurance beginning in July 2021, according to estimates from the state auditor…The vote on health care, which was paired with Missouri’s primary elections, came as confirmed coronavirus case s have been rising in the state and the economy continues to suffer.” [Associated Press, 8/5/20] 

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Missouri Voters Narrowly Approve Medicaid Expansion. “Ignoring pleas from Republican leaders, Missouri voters approved a plan Tuesday to expand Medicaid coverage to more than 230,000 low-income people in the state. Missouri voted to expand its Medicaid program, as 53% of voters supported the measure. Missouri now joins 37 other states that have already expanded the federally subsidized health insurance program.” [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 8/5/20] 

Washington, DC – Yesterday, Missouri voters passed a ballot measure to expand Medicaid in the state, making health care access a reality for more than 230,000 additional Missourians, including many who find themselves without health care coverage during a pandemic. Despite Missouri being a deep red state, voters chose to expand Medicaid and reject President Trump’s repeated attempts to undermine the Affordable Care Act and sabotage health care access. In response to the vote, Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement: 

“Missouri voters made their voices heard loud and clear by passing Medicaid expansion for their state. Even in deep red Missouri, voters are fed up with Donald Trump’s war on health care, his attempts to overturn the Affordable Care Act in court and complete mismanagement of the coronavirus crisis. Missourians know that Medicaid serves as a lifeline for the most vulnerable Americans, especially as our country battles the worsening pandemic, which is why they chose to affirm Medicaid expansion — a key provision of the Affordable Care Act that has already provided health care to 16 million Americans nationwide.” 

BACKGROUND:

Missouri Has Already Experienced An 8.8 Percent Increase In Medicaid Enrollment Since February. “Even without expanding the program, Missouri leads the group with an 8.8% increase since February in total Medicaid enrollment. While economic recessions often contribute to increasing Medicaid enrollment, the early spike in Missouri could signify reenrollment of a large number of people, mostly children, who had been dropped from the program two years in a row. A federal rule blocks disenrollment during the pandemic.” [Kaiser Health News, 7/30/20] 

700,000 Missourians Have Filed Unemployment Claims Since Mid-March. “Voters in Missouri will decide Tuesday whether to expand eligibility for MO HealthNet program (Missouri’s Medicaid program) to provide insurance to more than 230,000 additional people in the state, including many who find themselves newly struggling for health coverage amid a national health crisis. More than 700,000 initial unemployment claims were reported in Missouri from mid-March through the first week of July. If Medicaid expansion passes in Missouri, coverage for those newly eligible people would begin in 2021. Advocates for the measure say Medicaid expansion would also create jobs, protect hospitals from budget cuts and bring billions of federal taxpayer dollars back to the state.” [Kaiser Health News, 7/30/20] 

Washington, DC — Tonight, Rep. Roger Marshall (KS-01) won the Kansas Republican Senate primary and will face off against Democratic State Sen. Barbara Bollier in November. Throughout his time in Congress, Rep. Marshall has opposed Medicaid expansion for Kansans and voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act. In response to tonight’s primary result, Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement:

“Roger Marshall is wrong for Kansas, particularly as America faces the ever worsening coronavirus pandemic. Marshall, who was a critical player in the push to strip health care from over 200,000 Kansans in 2017, wants to make it harder for people to access Medicaid at a time when it’s more important than ever to ensure people have access to the care they need. Kansans have a clear choice in November — a candidate who wants to take health care away or State Sen. Bollier, a doctor who will work to lower health care costs, improve health care and take the necessary steps to protect us from the coronavirus.” 

BACKGROUND:

Rogers Marshall Supports Repealing The ACA And Its Protections For 1.2 Million Kansans with Pre-Existing Conditions

2017: Marshall Voted For AHCA. Marshall voted for passage of the American Health Care Act. [HR 1628, Roll Call Vote #256, 5/4/17] 

What Did AHCA Mean for Kansas? 

• By 2026, 212,100 Kansans would lose coverage under this bill, including 53,300 in Yoder’s’ district. 
• The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that the American Health Care Act would have raised premiums 20 percent in 2018.
• AHCA imposed what the AARP calls an “age tax” on older Americans. In Kansas, out-of-pocket costs for older people could increase by as much as $12,489 by 2026. 
• The negative economic impact of the American Health Care Act would cause 5,698 Kansans to lose their jobs by 2022, including 1,154 in the 3rd congressional district

2020: Marshall Claims To Support “Covering Individuals With Pre-Existing Conditions,” But Continues To Support Repeal Of The ACA. “As a physician, Doc has seen firsthand the negative consequences of government-controlled healthcare systems. Obamacare, and now, government-controlled socialized medicine are some of the most egregious examples of what Doc has fought against. Government-run healthcare has not only harmed small business, but directly interferes with the doctor-patient relationship. For health care delivery to thrive in America and rural Kansas, we must repeal and replace these broken systems. In Congress, Congressman Marshall voted in favor of the repeal of the individual mandate, repeal of the Cadillac tax, and the repeal of the medical device tax; all of which President Trump then signed into law. Dr. Marshall supports covering individuals with pre-existing conditions.” [Kansans for Marshall, accessed 8/3/20] 

2017: Marshall Was Part Of The GOP Doctors Caucus, A “Critical Player” In Efforts To Repeal. “When the longtime obstetrician first announced his candidacy in April 2015, it was far from a given that he could unseat a Republican incumbent or that his party would win the White House and complete control of Congress. But now he finds himself thrust straight into the hotter-than-ever fire of Washington health policy — and his party finds itself tantalizingly close to its dream of repealing the Affordable Care Act. ‘Letting the government run anything, including health care, what happens is prices go up and competition goes down,’ Marshall said in a recent interview at his office. ‘What we were doing was not working.’ He plans to add his on-the-ground experiences with the law to the debate in the halls of the Capitol. ‘I may be the only physician in Congress to help run a hospital.’ Marshall has joined the GOP Doctors Caucus, a group of 16 lawmakers with health care backgrounds who have put themselves at the center of the effort to unwind the Affordable Care Act. Two of its members have introduced legislation that would undo major elements of the ACA, and all see themselves as critical players in shaping whatever would replace it.” [Stat, 3/3/17] 

2017: Marshall Opposes Medicaid Expansion Because “There Is A Group Of People That Just Don’t Want Health Care And Aren’t Going To Take Care Of Themselves.” “The law’s Medicaid expansion, which Kansas has not adopted despite support from many hospitals, including some of Marshall’s former colleagues, is one of the big sticking points for Republicans. Many GOP-led states adopted it and want to see it preserved in some form. Marshall doesn’t believe it has helped, an outlook that sheds light on how this new player in Washington understands health policy. ‘Just like Jesus said, ‘The poor will always be with us,’ he said. ‘There is a group of people that just don’t want health care and aren’t going to take care of themselves.’ Pressed on that point, Marshall shrugged. ‘Just, like, homeless people. … I think just morally, spiritually, socially, [some people] just don’t want health care,’ he said. ‘The Medicaid population, which is [on] a free credit card, as a group, do probably the least preventive medicine and taking care of themselves and eating healthy and exercising. And I’m not judging, I’m just saying socially that’s where they are. So there’s a group of people that even with unlimited access to health care are only going to use the emergency room when their arm is chopped off or when their pneumonia is so bad they get brought [into] the ER.’” [Stat, 3/3/17] 

Washington, DC –– On July 19th, President Donald Trump claimed he and his administration would be offering “a full and complete health care plan” with a self-imposed fourteen day deadline. To no one’s surprise, two weeks later there is still no health care plan to address the needs of American families who are grappling with a global pandemic and a historic economic downturn. It’s not the first two-week deadline the President has blown. On more than a dozen occasions since 2018, the President has promised action on health care within a two week window. There has yet to be any action taken by the Trump Administration on health care except their ongoing efforts to destroy American health care through sabotage and repeal. In response, Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement:

“Donald Trump’s broken promises are so routine, I’ve started to set my watch to them. Unfortunately, while his failures pile up, millions of Americans are in danger of losing their health care while combating a global pandemic and its catastrophic consequences. And the precarious situation American families find themselves in can be directly tied back to his failure to listen to the experts on containing the virus and his general disinterest in offering much-needed assistance to hard-working Americans who need it. It’s all a bigger piece of Trump’s never-ending war on health care, which has been dogging the American people for years and is now literally before the Supreme Court. 

“There’s no Trump health care plan today for one simple reason – we already have one – which is to rip health care away from millions of Americans in the middle of a global pandemic. That’s the Trump plan – and he and every Republican will be held accountable for it in 93 days.” 

Call Audio Available Here

Washington, DC — Today, Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) and Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX-32) joined Protect Our Care on a press call to discuss the latest coronavirus negotiations and Americans’ health care needs during this pandemic, particularly Republicans’ failure to strengthen Medicaid and open a special enrollment period for the uninsured to gain coverage through the ACA marketplace. Mitch McConnell and House Republicans have refused to consider the Heroes Act – championed by Democrats and passed by the House over two months ago – which provides a 14% increase in funds to support state Medicaid programs, $75 billion in funding for testing and contact tracing, coverage of coronavirus treatment without cost-sharing, and the opening of a special enrollment period. A recent poll from Public Policy Polling for Protect Our Care shows that voters in Mitch McConnell’s home state of Kentucky support key provisions of the Heroes Act championed by House Democrats.

Senator Warner also discussed his legislation, the States Achieve Medicaid Expansion (SAME) Act, which would allow states like Virginia, which expanded Medicaid after 2014, to receive the same full federal matching funds as states that expanded earlier under the terms of the Affordable Care Act. Under this legislation, the 13 states that have not expanded Medicaid would also be eligible for increased federal funds once they choose to expand the program. Congressman Allred is helping lead a similar effort in the House as a cosponsor to the companion bill, the Incentivizing Medicaid Expansion Act. 

“In the past week alone, more than 8,000 Virginians have filed for unemployment, and a good number of them are at direct risk of losing their employer-sponsored health care coverage. And that’s just in Virginia,” said Senator Mark Warner. “According to a May report, nearly 27 million people nationwide have lost their employer-sponsored health insurance as a result of losing their job. Just a few simple steps – like strengthening Medicaid and launching a special enrollment period – could expand affordable health care access to millions of Americans. Congress has the responsibility to ensure that Americans have continued access to the health services they need during this global pandemic. As we negotiate what the next COVID-19 relief bill will look like, I’ll continue to urge my colleagues to do something to stave off this growing health care storm.”

“Ensuring that everyone has access to the health care they need during this crisis should not be a partisan issue,” said Congressman Colin Allred. “There are common sense things we can do now. Whether it is a special enrollment period, ending the attacks on the Affordable Care Act or providing states with support for Medicaid. I am willing to work with anyone to help North Texans, and I urge the Senate and this Administration to work with us and help deliver relief.” 

“Over two months ago, the House of Representatives under the leadership of Speaker Pelosi passed the Heroes Act, which provides a 14% increase in funds to support state Medicaid programs, $75 billion in funding for testing and contact tracing, coverage of coronavirus treatment without cost-sharing and the opening of a special enrollment period,” said Protect Our Care Communications Director Anne Shoup. “The meager package unveiled by Mitch McConnell this week lacks the vital health care provisions necessary to get our country on the right track and protect Americans’ health and safety. The bottom line is that any meaningful coronavirus package must further increase federal funds to support state Medicaid programs and include a special enrollment period for the federal marketplace.”

BACKGROUND:

The Senate Must Act Now To Open A Special Enrollment Period

Increasing The FMAP Is Critical For The U.S. Pandemic Response

 

Washington, DC — Today, the House of Representatives passed legislation introduced by Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14) to protect the Affordable Care Act (ACA) from attacks by President Trump and elected Republicans across the country in the middle of a pandemic. As part of the appropriations process, Rep. Underwood’s amendment prohibits the Department of Justice from using funds to undermine the ACA, including its effort to completely overturn the law in California v. Texas, which will be heard in the Supreme Court’s upcoming term. Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach issued the following statement in response:

“House Republicans have voted to endorse President Trump’s lawsuit to completely overturn the Affordable Care Act in the middle of the coronavirus epidemic. They voted to support taking away health care from 23 million Americans and protections for pre-existing conditions for 135 million, including every American who had or will have Covid-19. As Americans face the worst public health crisis in a century, House Republicans voted against the health and economic security of America. They learned nothing from their defeat in 2018, and instead chose to double down on a cruel and unpopular strategy. Thankfully, under the leadership of Speaker Pelosi, House Democrats are fighting to protect our care by passing this amendment put forth by Representative Underwood.” 

Washington, DC — 55 years ago today, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare and Medicaid into law, improving the well-being of millions of Americans and saving countless lives in the process. Yet Republicans continue to do everything they can to slash the budgets of these vital programs and kick millions of Americans off their coverage, even as the coronavirus crisis continues to grip the nation. To mark this important anniversary, Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement:

“Five and a half decades in, Medicare and Medicaid serve as a lifeline for millions of Americans, especially as our country faces the worsening coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, Medicare and Medicaid remain under assault by President Trump and his Republican allies who have proposed steep budget cuts for both programs, support the disastrous lawsuit to eliminate Medicaid expansion entirely and continue fighting to impose onerous paperwork requirements for Medicaid coverage. Even as President Trump and Republicans’ never-ending war on health care rages on, Medicare and Medicaid continue to provide quality care for millions at a time when the health and safety of Americans has never been more at risk.”

BACKGROUND:

Trump Administration’s War On Medicaid Threatens The U.S. Coronavirus Response

Trump Wants To Repeal Medicaid Expansion Through His Texas Lawsuit To Overturn The ACA. The Trump administration is currently backing a lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act and, if they are successful, 20 million people would lose insurance and protections for pre-existing conditions would be eliminated overnight. The lawsuit would also terminate Medicaid expansion, threatening to rip away coverage from 17 million and cut key funding for already-struggling rural hospitals during the pandemic.

Trump Continues To Support Medicaid Block Grants. Under the Trump administration’s recently finalized block grant proposal, federal funding would no longer necessarily increase in response to a public health emergency like coronavirus. This could lead to people losing coverage and access to care, undermining prevention and treatment of diseases nationwide. 

Trump Paved The Way For Medicaid Work Requirements. The administration has encouraged states to impose illegal work requirements on Medicaid beneficiaries that are designed to throw people off coverage. When Arkansas imposed the nation’s first work requirement program, 18,000 people lost coverage. The policy has since been struck down by the courts. While the federal government has temporarily halted any state efforts to impose new eligibility requirements that make it more difficult to enroll, including work requirements, states like Oklahoma and Utah are continuing to pursue Medicaid work requirements and other enrollment restrictions.

Trump Wants To Gut The Medicaid Budget. Trump has repeatedly sought deep health care cuts in his budget proposals, most recently seeking more than a trillion in cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act for 2021. This budget essentially ends Medicaid expansion by eliminating the enhanced federal payment and proposes nationwide work requirements. 

Who Gets Hurt From The GOP War On Medicaid?

Children & Families. Roughly 34.9 million children in the United States are enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Nationally, nearly 2 in 5, or 39% of children in America have health insurance through Medicaid, as do 17 Percent of parents. 49 percent of births are covered by Medicaid.

Seniors. More than 6.9 million American seniors have Medicaid coverage. More than 8.5 million Americans ages 50 to 64 have health coverage through Medicaid. Medicaid covers 6 in 10 nursing home residents. 

Women. Nearly 40 million women and girls rely on Medicaid for coverage. In 2017, Medicaid covered 17% of nonelderly women in the United States. Across all age groups, women comprise the majority of Medicaid enrollees. 

People of Color. People of color are more likely to rely on Medicaid for coverage. Black Americans make up 13.4 percent of the U.S. population but 20 percent of Medicaid enrollees. Latinos make up 18.3% of the U.S. population but 30 percent of Medicaid enrollees. After the implementation of the ACA, racial gaps in insurance coverage narrowed the most in states that adopted Medicaid expansion.

People with Disabilities. Nearly 8.7 million adults enrolled in Medicaid have a disability. Of this group, only 43 percent qualify for social security income. More than 1 in 3 adults under age 65 enrolled in Medicaid lives with at least one disability. Medicaid covers 45 percent of nonelderly adults with disabilities, including adults with physical disabilities, developmental disabilities, brain injuries, and mental illness.

People in Rural Areas. The ACA has expanded access to health care to nearly 1.7 million rural Americans who have gained coverage through the Medicaid expansion, not only playing a central role in improving rural communities’ health, but also supporting these communities’ economic well-being. Medicaid covers nearly 24 percent of rural Americans, 45 percent of rural children, 15 percent of rural seniors, and pays for 51 percent of rural births. The uninsured rate in rural areas in states that expanded Medicaid has dropped by a median of 44 percent since expansion. 

Fighting the Opioid Crisis. More than half of people with an opioid use disorder earn incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty line. In 2014, Medicaid paid for 25 percent of all addiction treatment nationwide. It is estimated that Medicaid expansion covers four in ten people with an opioid use disorder. 

Here Are Some Of The Ways Republicans Have Undermined Medicare:

Trump Has Repeatedly Proposed Steep Cuts To Medicare In His Budget Requests. Despite repeatedly promising not to cut Medicare, Trump’s 2020 budget proposal would have cut more than $800 billion from Medicare over a decade, or roughly 10 percent of Medicare’s funding over the next ten years to help pay for tax cuts to insurance and big drug companies. Most recently, Trump’s 2021 budget would reduce Medicare spending by $500 billion.

Trump And His Republican Allies Support A Lawsuit That Would Overturn The Entire ACA And Re-Open The “Donut” Hole, Forcing Seniors To Pay More For Prescription Drugs. If the Republican lawsuit is successful, seniors will have to pay more for prescription drugs because the Medicare “donut” hole got reopened. From 2010 to 2016, “More than 11.8 million Medicare beneficiaries have received discounts over $26.8 billion on prescription drugs – an average of $2,272 per beneficiary,” according to a January 2017 Centers on Medicare and Medicaid Services report.

As The Cost Of Drugs Skyrocket, President Trump And His Republican Allies In Congress Will Not Allow Medicare To Negotiate For Better Prescription Drug Prices. Under current law, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is explicitly prohibited from negotiating directly with drug manufacturers on behalf of Medicare Part D enrollees. Although it would decrease both federal spending and beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs, a policy allowing the federal government to negotiate drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries was recently blocked by Senate Republicans.