News

With Health Care and Pre-existing Conditions Protections Called “Top Issues” by Texas Voters, Trump Joins GOP Candidates in Shamefully Trying to Hide their Repeal-and-Sabotage Record from View During Debates, Rallies

Houston, TX – Tonight President Donald Trump, the Repealer-in-Chief turned self-professed pre-existing conditions defender, stumps for Texas politicians who once bragged about working to repeal the Affordable Care Act and its protections for pre-existing conditions but are now trying to erase their repeal-and-sabotage record from memory, while health care champion Lizzie Fletcher and pro-repeal Republican John Culberson hold their first public debate. In response, Texans are telling their stories about how important maintaining protections for pre-existing conditions are to them. Ahead of the Fletcher-Culberson debate tonight, patients, providers and health care advocates in the Protect Our Care-Texas coalition will be speaking out against the Republican war on health care.   

Despite recent, empty promises and meaningless, “nonbinding” PR stunts to position themselves as protectors of people with pre-existing conditions, Ted Cruz, Pete Sessions and John Culberson and other Texas Republicans have worked for years to dismantle protections for pre-existing conditions. Recent polling by PPP for Protect Our Care shows nearly two-thirds of Texas voters statewide and in key House battlegrounds want to see protections for pre-existing conditions maintained in the law and nearly six in 10 are concerned about the consequences of GOP repeal efforts.

Here’s one Texan’s story about why Texas Republicans’ repeal-and-sabotage crusade is so personal:

“I’ve been living with my transplanted kidney for six years now. Thanks to the protections of pre-existing conditions rules in the Affordable Care Act, I am able to get insurance that allows me to get checkups that I need to make sure my kidney is doing well,” said Marc Pouhé, a Texan living with IgA nephropathy. “I’m able to get the medication that I need, daily, to keep me from rejecting the kidney — medication that would be thousands of dollars without the insurance that I have. So it’s gravely important that these protections stay in place.”

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND

Ted Cruz’s Years-Long Campaign to Gut Pre-existing Conditions Protections for 11.5 Million Texans:

Cruz’s First Piece Of Legislation Was To “Fully Repeal Obamacare.” [Cruz.Senate.Gov, accessed 9/21/18]

2013: Cruz Led The Republican Government Shut Down Over ACA Implementation. [Vox, 1/22/18]

2015:  Cruz Voted To Repeal Most Of The ACA. [HR 3762, Roll Call Vote #114, 12/3/15]

2017:  Cruz Voted For The Senate “Repeal And Delay” Plan. [HR 1628, Roll Call Vote #169, 7/26/17]

2017: Cruz Voted For The Better Care Reconciliation Act.  

2017:  Cruz Voted For “Skinny Repeal” Of The ACA.  [HR 1628, Roll Call Vote #179, 7/28/17]

2018:  Ted Cruz: “We Need To Finish The Job” On Obamacare.  “Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Wednesday said Republicans needed to ‘finish the job” on repealing and replacing Obamacare in 2018, and he is pushing his colleagues to use one last reconciliation bill before the midterms to deliver on their long-running promise.” [Washington Examiner, 1/24/18]

Ted Cruz Said It Was “Reasonable” for GOP to Argue ACA’s Preexisting Conditions Rules Are Now Unconstitutional.  “Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), as vociferous an Obamacare critic as you’ll find, sounds on board with the latest legal challenge to the health care law that could lead to protections for people with preexisting conditions being found unconstitutional. Cruz told Vox that he thought the Justice Department’s position in the lawsuit, that the law’s rules on preexisting conditions should be invalidated along with the individual mandate, was ‘reasonable’ and defended the foundation of the case being brought by his home state of Texas in a brief interview at the Capitol.” [Vox, 6/15/18]

John Culberson’s Years-Long Campaign to Gut Pre-existing Conditions Protections for 11.5 Million Texans:

2011:  Culberson Voted For A Total Repeal Of The ACA. [HR 2, Roll Call Vote #14, 1/19/11]

2011:  Culberson Voted To Repeal And Defund The ACA.[HCR 34, Roll Call Vote #277, 4/15/11]

2013:  Culberson Voted For A Total Repeal Of The ACA. [HR 45, Roll Call Vote #154, 5/16/13]

2015:  Culberson Voted For A Total Repeal Of The ACA. Culberson voted for HR 596, an act “to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and health care-related provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.”  The bill also ordered House committees to develop a replacement that would “provide people with pre-existing conditions access to affordable health coverage,” but provided no specifics. [HR 596, Roll Call Vote #58, 2/3/15]

2017: Culberson Voted For AHCA, which would have gutted pre-existing conditions protections. [HR 1628, Roll Call Vote #256, 5/4/17]

Pete Sessions’s Years-Long Campaign to Gut Pre-existing Conditions Protections for 11.5 Million Texans:

Sessions has bragged that he has “voted more than 60 times to repeal, dismantle, and defund ObamaCare.” This includes:

2011: Sessions Voted For A Total Repeal Of The ACA. [HR 2, Roll Call Vote #14, 1/19/11]

2011:  Sessions Voted To Repeal And Defund The ACA. [HCR 34, Roll Call Vote #277, 4/15/11]

2013:  Sessions Voted For A Total Repeal Of The ACA. [HR 45, Roll Call Vote #154, 5/16/13]

2015:  Sessions Voted For A Total Repeal Of The ACA.  Sessions voted for HR 596, an act “to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and health care-related provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.”  The bill also ordered House committees to develop a replacement that would “provide people with pre-existing conditions access to affordable health coverage,” but provided no specifics. [HR 596, Roll Call Vote #58, 2/3/15]

2017: Sessions Voted For AHCA, which would have gutted pre-existing conditions protections. [HR 1628, Roll Call Vote #256, 5/4/17]

…As New PPP-Protect Our Care Poll Shows Nevada Voters Oppose Heller’s Attacks On Health Care, and Support Rosen Instead

Washington DC – At the Senate debate in Las Vegas, Senator Dean Heller continued to run from his record of supporting massive tax cuts for large corporations and authoring repeal legislation to strip millions of Nevadans of their health care. Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care issued the following statement in response:

“What’s one thing that happened in Vegas and should stay there? Dean Heller, and his lies last night about health care. Let’s be clear, Dean Heller’s bill would have turned back the clock on pre-existing conditions protections. It would bring back what the AARP calls ‘the age tax’ for people over 50 and it would allow discrimination against women by insurance companies. What’s worse, he promised to give health repeal another go after the midterms. Dean Heller’s re-election campaign is all about getting another chance to strip health care away from millions of Americans and give wealthy corporations another massive tax cut. It’s no wonder more and more Nevadans are saying ‘no way.’”

What Heller Said:

“I wrote the bill, the repeal and replacement bill for Republicans that specifically added pre-existing conditions because that is how I feel about it.” [C-SPAN, 10/19/18]

The Truthl: Heller Authored Repeal Legislation That Would Have Jacked Up Premiums, Gutted Medicaid And Eliminated Protections For People With Pre-Existing Conditions

Graham-Cassidy-Heller Would Raise Costs For People With Pre-Existing Conditions. Graham-Cassidy-Heller would allow states to let insurance companies once again charge people with pre-existing conditions more, which could raise costs for up to 1,215,300 Nevadans that have a pre-existing condition. For example, an individual with asthma would face a premium surcharge of $4,340. The surcharge for pregnancy would be $17,320, while it would be $142,650 more for patients with metastatic cancer.

242,000 Nevadans Could See Lifetime And Annual Limits Again. Allowing states to opt out of the Essential Health Benefits coverage means that insurance companies could once again put lifetime and annual limits on the amount of care you receive, even impacting people with coverage from their employer. Up to 242,000 Nevadans with employer-sponsored coverage would lose these protections.

Graham-Cassidy-Heller Could Lead to An Age Tax, Meaning 60 Year Old Nevadans Could Pay Up To $16,458 More. The Graham-Cassidy-Heller bill would allow states to let insurers charge people over 50 high premiums without limits. The AARP said, “The Graham/Cassidy/Heller/Johnson bill would result in an age tax for older Americans who would see their health care costs increase under this bill.” AARP estimates that 60-year-old Nevadans could pay as much as a $16,458 more in higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs in 2020.

Millions of Women Could Face Higher Costs or Lose Access to Care. Graham-Cassidy-Heller would end Medicaid expansion, which has allowed 3.9 million women to gain access to care. It would end provisions that helped lower premiums and out-of-pocket costs for 9 million women. Graham-Cassidy-Heller slashes Medicaid, on which one in five women of reproductive age rely. The bill would defund Planned Parenthood and would allow states to let insurers forgo maternity coverage.

Analysts Agree: Every State Loses Under Graham-Cassidy-Heller Affecting People’s Care. Multiple independent analyses agree that the Graham-Cassidy-Heller repeal bill would cut federal funding to states. Over time, every state loses because Graham-Cassidy-Heller zeroes out its block grants and ratchets down its spending on the Medicaid per capita cap. This means people would not have access to the financial assistance to help lower their health care bills, and federal Medicaid funding would no longer adjust for public health emergencies, prescription drug or other cost spikes, or other unexpected increases in need.

• Avalere: $4 Trillion Cut To States Over Next Two Decades, Including $39 Billion Cut To Nevadans. Independent analysts at Avalere estimated that states collectively would lose $215 billion from 2020 to 2026 from the plans block grants and Medicaid cap, another $283 billion in 2027 when the block grant funding disappears altogether and $4 trillion over the next two decades. Nevada would see a $2 billion reduction from 2020 to 2026, another $5 billion reduction in 2027 and a $39 billion cut over two decades.

200,583 Nevadans Enrolled Through Medicaid Expansion At Risk. The Graham-Cassidy-Heller bill would eliminate Medicaid expansion, which has helped 200,583 Nevadans receive quality, affordable coverage, and put part of its funding into inadequate block grants. The bill would further punish states that expanded Medicaid by redistributing funds to states that did not expand Medicaid.

Premiums Will Increase 20 Percent in the First Year. According to the Congressional Budget Office, Graham-Cassidy-Heller includes provisions that would raise premiums up to 20 percent in the first year.

63,968 Nevadans Who Receive Marketplace Tax Credits Could Pay More. Because the Graham-Cassidy-Heller bill eliminates block grant funding in 2027 with no guarantee of any other funding to take its place, that means there would be no funding Marketplace tax credits that help people pay for their premiums, which currently benefits 63,968 Nevadans.

“The thing to know about Leah Vukmir is that she’s blocked health care and sided with insurance companies every chance,” says Brad Woodhouse

Washington DC – In response to last night’s third and final Senate debate between Leah Vukmir and Senator Tammy Baldwin, Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement:

“Third verse, same as the first: once again, Leah Vukmir repeated her tired old line about how she’d protect people with pre-existing conditions, which has been called out before. The thing to know about Leah Vukmir is that she’s blocked health care and sided with insurance companies over ordinary Wisconsinites every chance she’s gotten, whether by blocking Medicaid expansion, supporting junk insurance plans that don’t have to cover pre-existing conditions or prescription drugs or maternity care, or by voting against Wisconsin’s smoking ban.”

Additional background:

What Vukmir Said:

“I will fall in front of a truck before I let people go without coverage for pre-existing conditions.” [Wisconsin State Journal, 10/19/18]

What Vukmir Has Done:

Vukmir “Supports Full Repeal Of Obamacare. Period.” “Leah understands why people are upset with Republicans who promised to repeal Obamacare and didn’t deliver. She supports full repeal of Obamacare. Period. And she won’t stop pushing for full repeal in Congress.” [LeahVukmir.com, accessed 6/12/18]

Vice President Pence: ‘We Made An Effort To Fully Repeal And Replace Obamacare And We’ll Continue, With Leah Vukmir In The Senate.” [The Hill, 8/31/18]

Though Leah Vukmir claims she supports protections for people with pre-existing conditions, she has turned her back on Wisconsinites at every opportunity to do so.

• Vukmir refuses to stand against a lawsuit designed to end protections for people with pre-existing conditions. This summer, the Trump Administration refused to defend against a lawsuit brought by twenty conservative states aimed at overturning the Affordable Care Act and its protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Leah Vukmir refuses to speak against this lawsuit, instead calling it a “necessary step.”
• Vukmir refuses to take action at the state level against the Trump administration’s junk plan and association plan rules that let insurance companies discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions. This summer, the Trump Administration finalized a junk plan rule and an association plan rule that allow insurance companies to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions. Experts warn that these moves will only increase the cost of comprehensive care, ultimately making it even harder for people with pre-existing conditions to get the care they need. Twenty-one states have taken or are taking action to limit the harmful effects of these junk plans, but Vukmir refuses to do the same for Wisconsin.

Vukmir Says High Risk Pools Would Be Her ‘Solution’ to Cover People With Pre-existing Conditions if the Affordable Care Act is Repealed. The statement itself acknowledges that she would give insurance companies back the power to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions. Here are some other problems with high risk pools:

• High Risk Pools Typically Had Pre-Existing Condition Exclusions And Limited Benefits. [Health Affairs, 3/15/16]
• High Risk Pools’ Limited Coverage And High Costs Cause People To Remain Uninsured.  [Stateline, 2/16/17] Wisconsin’s previous high risk pool only covered 25,000 people, with estimates showing 2.4 million Wisconsinites live with pre-existing conditions.
• Premiums For Coverage In High Risk Pools Were As Much As 200 Percent Higher Than The Average Rate But Covered Less Care. [Center for American Progress, 2/16/17]
• Despite High Premiums, High Risk Pools Could Still Cost The American People Over $90 Billion Annually. [Commonwealth Fund, 3/29/17]

Vukmir Opposed Medicaid Expansion In Wisconsin.

• Medicaid is not only a lifeline for over one million Wisconsinites, it strengthens our communities and is supported by 74 percent of Americans. Wisconsin has restricted its Medicaid program such that only Residents earning up to 100 percent of the federal poverty line are eligible to enroll in Medicaid. If Wisconsin expanded its program, 119,000 more adults could gain coverage through Medicaid

Vukmir’s Extreme Health Care Record In The State Legislature Is Proof Of What She Would Do On The Federal Level.

• Vukmir Opposed An Indoor Smoking Ban, Calling It “Anti-Smoking Zealotry.”  [Associated Press, 5/14/09]
• Vukmir Opposed A Bipartisan Substance Abuse and Mental Health Parity Bill In The State Assembly. [Shepherd Express, 9/29/10]
• Vukmir Describes Stopping “Healthy Wisconsin,” A Health Plan That Would Have Covered Virtually Every Wisconsinite, As Her Proudest Legislative Achievement. [Milwaukee Magazine, 9/22/16]

“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.

On Deck for Next Week: Kathleen Sebelius, Donna Edwards, Neera Tanden, Cecile Richards, and more

View All the Stops of Protect Our Care’s Nationwide Tour Here

For the previous four weeks, Protect Our Care has been taking the health care fight to communities across the country in its first-ever nationwide bus tour. Covering nearly 12,000 miles, Care Force One is making 49 stops across 24 states. So far, Care Force One has visited Connecticut, Maine, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico.

Joining Protect Our Care’s leaders Leslie Dach and Brad Woodhouse and cancer survivor Laura Packard on the bus have been U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Angus King (I-ME), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Tom Udall (D-NM), U.S. Representatives Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Jacky Rosen (NV-03), and Dina Titus (NV-01); former Representatives Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-02) and Steven Horsford (NV-04); Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley, Tolleson Mayor Anna Tovar, former Bangor Mayor Joe Baldacci, former Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein, Erie County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, and more.

At a time when health care is consistently ranked as a top issue for the public, the tour is highlighting that the Republican war on health care is very much alive, with Republican leaders doubling down on their calls to repeal health care, including pre-existing conditions protections, and cut billions from Medicare and Medicaid, all while using regulations and the courts to continue their attacks on protections for the 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions, for women, older Americans, and Medicaid and Medicare enrollees.

Here’s a snapshot of the tour thus far:

At Care Force One’s kickoff event, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal were joined by nearly 100 community members outside a Bridgeport Community Health Center to call attention to Republicans’ ongoing war on health care care.

“Connecticut made the decision to try to make the Affordable Care Act work, not undermine it like many other states did,” said Senator Chris Murphy. “Think about the 20 million Americans who have been given access to health care, whose lives have been changed. Just imagine what that number would be if every other state approached the Affordable Care Act the way Connecticut did.”

In Maine, U.S. Senator Angus King and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree joined state representatives and Mainers with pre-existing conditions at Portland City Hall to speak out against the devastating repercussions of health care repeal before the bus headed to Bangor.

“We’ve got to continue to fight against repeal,” said Senator Angus King. “I call it a zombie proposal because it keeps coming back, and it’s a terrible idea and we have to keep trying to push that back to try and protect Medicare as well as the Affordable Care Act.”

Care Force One then headed west for three events in Pennsylvania, where state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, former Congresswoman and current Erie County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper, state senators, state representatives, and Pennsylvanians of all backgrounds hosted rallies in Harrisburg, Erie, and Pittsburgh to defend the ACA and Medicaid.

“The Affordable Care Act has expanded coverage for millions of Pennsylvanians, especially those living with pre-existing conditions, and I will do everything in my power to protect that coverage,” said Attorney General Josh Shapiro. “Now more than ever, we need our elected officials to stand up and defend the protections created by the ACA.”

In Ohio, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein, and others spoke out about the devastating repercussions of health care repeal.

“Everyone is one pre-existing condition away from bankruptcy. This is about making sure there’s a basic level of health protection for every single of American. We have an obligation to stand up for everyone in this country,” Randi Weingarten said.

In its second week, Care Force One was welcomed to South Bend, Indiana by Mayor Pete Buttigieg. “This isn’t about politics, this is about our lives, our livelihoods, and our well being,” said Mayor Pete Buttigieg. “This is our opportunity to raise our voices and say enough is enough when it comes to baseless attempts to take away the protection of our health care.”

(Photo by C.S. Hagen, High Plains Reader)

After stops in Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, week three brought Care Force One to Fargo, North Dakota, where the bus was joined by State Sen. Jim Dotzenrod, former State Sen. Mac Schneider, former State Rep. Ben Hanson, and North Dakotan Jennifer Restemeyer, who shared the story of her daughter, Allison, who suffers from a genetic disorder. As the High Plains Reader reported, Allison “wouldn’t be alive today if the Affordable Care Act hadn’t been passed.”

(Photo by Larry Mayer, Billings Gazette)

From there, Care Force One headed west to Montana, for a series of health care roundtables at health centers in Billings, Butte, and Missoula with local elected officials, health care professionals, representatives from the office of Sen. Jon Tester, and Montanans who have gained coverage under the ACA. After enactment of the law, the states has seen its uninsured rate cut in half.

Week four of the tour found Care Force One in Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico with a number of elected officials, including U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, U.S. Senator Tom Udall, Congresswoman Jacky Rosen, Congresswoman Dina Titus, and former Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick and former Congressman Steven Horsford.

“The Trump Administration’s repeated efforts to sabotage the Affordable Care Act threaten to put the cost of health care out of reach for too many families and once again allow insurance companies to discriminate against people with preexisting conditions,” said Senator Catherine Cortez Masto in Las Vegas. “I’ll continue fighting to improve the ACA, make premiums more affordable, and ensure that every Nevadan is able to access quality, affordable health care.”

“Right now, our health care system is under attack from the Trump Administration and Republicans in Washington,” said Congresswoman Jacky Rosen in Las Vegas. “I’m fighting in Congress to stabilize the markets, bring down the cost of premiums and prescription drugs, and ensure hardworking Nevadans with pre-existing medical conditions are protected. It’s time for Republicans to work with Democrats to protect and improve our health care system instead of sabotaging and dismantling it.”

“Republicans in Congress and the White House have waged a war on Americans’ health care, including protections for those in our community who live with pre-existing conditions,” former Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick said in Tucson. “It’s critical that we all stand up, take action, and fight for affordable healthcare for Arizonans and all Americans.”

“Washington should protect our health care — overwhelmingly, New Mexicans want us to protect people with pre-existing conditions from being gauged by insurance companies or thrown off their insurance altogether,” Senator Tom Udall said. “Overwhelmingly, they want to keep the Medicaid expansion. And the American people don’t want the Trump administration or the Republicans in Congress dismantling Medicare.”

Today, Care Force One is in Denver, Colorado. Next week, the bus will roll into Missouri, Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia. Next week’s headliners include former HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Center for American Progress President Neera Tanden, former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards, and more.  More information about the remaining stops can be found here.