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In News

REALITY CHECK: ACA Marketplaces Experiencing Widespread Premium Increases Due to GOP Sabotage

Washington, D.C – On the heels of President Trump’s widely panned and highly deceptive health care op-ed, CMS issued a similarly misleading press release in a transparent effort to conceal how the Trump Administration has raised health care costs. Leslie Dach, chair of Protect Our Care, released the following statement in response:

 

“Another day, another set of lies from the Trump Administration, desperate to hide the truth about how they’ve jacked up health care costs for Americans. Here’s the simple truth: People buying health insurance in America today are paying more for it than they should because of the relentless sabotage campaign by the Trump Administration and its Republican allies in Congress and the states. People who are seeing substantial premium increases are paying more than they should and the people seeing small rate decreases should be paying even less. The fact that Americans are paying more because of Trump’s sabotage when insurance companies are getting massive tax breaks and their profits and CEO salaries are soaring — and projected to skyrocket even further — is outrageous, and underscores why millions are fed up with this Republican war on health care and preparing to take this anger out at the polls.”

 

FACT: ACROSS THE BOARD, AMERICANS ARE PAYING MORE DUE TO TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S SABOTAGE CAMPAIGN

 

Brookings Analysis Estimates That Individual Market Premiums Would Decrease If Not For GOP Sabotage. Among its key findings:

  • Estimates That Average Premium Would Fall By 4.3 Percent In 2019 In Stable Policy Environment. “I estimate that the nationwide average per member per month premium in the individual market would fall by 4.3 percent in 2019 in a stable policy environment.” [Brookings Institution, 8/1/18]
  • Insurance Companies’ Revenues Will Far Exceed Their Costs In 2018. “I project that insurers’ revenues in the ACA-compliant individual market will far exceed their costs in 2018, generating a positive underwriting margin of 10.5 percent of premium revenue. This is up from a modest positive margin of 1.2 percent of premium revenue in 2017 and contrasts sharply with the substantial losses insurers incurred in the ACA-compliant market in 2014, 2015, and 2016. The estimated 2018 margin also far exceeds insurers’ margins in the pre-ACA individual market. ” [Brookings Institution, 8/1/18]
  • Absent Republican Sabotage, Average Premiums For ACA-Compliant Plans Would Likely Fall In 2019. “In this analysis, I define a stable policy environment as one in which the federal policies toward the individual market in effect for 2018 remain in effect for 3 2019. Notably, this scenario assumes that the individual mandate remains in effect for 2019, but also assumes that policies implemented prior to 2018, like the end of CSR payments, remain in effect as well. Under those circumstances, insurers’ costs would rise only moderately in 2019, primarily reflecting normal growth in medical costs.” [Brookings Institution, 8/1/18]

American Academy of Actuaries Point To Trump Administration Sabotage As Drivers Of 2019 Premium Increases. “Key drivers of 2019 premium changes include…Recent legislative and regulatory changes, including the elimination of the individual mandate penalty, the pending expanded availability of short-term limited duration plans and association health plans, and whether changes are made regarding how insurers are instructed to load premiums to account for cost-sharing reduction subsidies.” [American Academy of Actuaries, 6/13/18]

 

American Enterprise Institute Says Deregulating the Individual Market will not Lower Overall Health Costs. “When these proposed rules are made final, which is likely to occur in the coming months, many middle-class consumers will be able to exit the ACA-regulated markets for less expensive options. But overall costs will not decline. Insurers will simply shift higher premiums onto those who remain in the current market, which in turn will mean the federal government will pay higher subsidies for those eligible for premium assistance.” [American Enterprise Institute, 4/26/18]

 

FACT: TRUMP CAN’T TAKE CREDIT FOR STABILIZATION THAT WAS HAPPENING BEFORE HE CAME INTO OFFICE — AND ON A BETTER TRACK BEFORE HIS REPEAL-AND-SABOTAGE CAMPAIGN

 

Larry Levitt, SVP for Health Reform at Kaiser Family Foundation: Before Republican Sabotage, The Individual Marketplaces Were Stabilizing. “With insurers now mostly profitable in the ACA individual insurance market, I would have expected single-digit premium increases for 2019 reflecting health-cost growth…With repeal of the individual mandate and expansion of short-term plans, double-digit hikes are now likely.” [Rampell, Washington Post, 5/14/18]

  • Larry Levitt, SVP for Health Reform at Kaiser Family Foundation: If Not For Republican Sabotage, Premium Increases Would Be Modest. “If not for actions by Congress and the Trump administration, we’d be looking at very modest premium increases for next year.” [Larry Levitt, 5/17/18]

Analysis By The Kaiser Family Foundation Confirms what Experts Have Been Saying For Months, Before Sabotage Took Affect, The Individual Market Was Stabilizing. “Annual results from 2017 suggest the individual market was stabilizing and insurers in this market were regaining profitability. Insurer financial results through 2017 – after the Administration’s decision to stop making cost-sharing subsidy payments and before the repeal of the individual mandate penalty in the tax overhaul goes into effect – showed no sign of a market collapse.” [Kaiser Family Foundation, 5/17/18]

Kaiser Family Foundation: “Absent any policy changes, it is likely that insurers would generally have required only modest premium increases in 2018 and in 2019 as well.” [Kaiser Family Foundation, 5/17/18]

Between 2016 and 2017, Premiums Increased At A Much Faster Pace Than Claims Did. “Driving recent improvements in individual market insurer financial performance are the premium increases in 2017 and simultaneous slow growth in claims for medical expenses. On average, premiums per enrollee grew 22% from 2016 to 2017, while per person claims grew only 5%.” [Kaiser Family Foundation, 5/17/18]

 

FACT: CMS IS CHERRY PICKING. THEY IGNORE GIANT RATE INCREASES AND ONLY CITE THE AVERAGE OF SILVER PLANS BECAUSE, OVERALL, PLANS ARE GOING UP BY AN AVERAGE OF THREE PERCENT THIS YEAR (ON TOP OF 30 PERCENT INCREASES LAST YEAR)

In citing the decrease that some Tennesseans will experience next year, CMS completely neglects to mention that other Tennesseans will see increases as high as 10.84 percent on top of last year’s 36 and 21 percent rate hikes. Health insurance experts and analysts blame GOP sabotage.

 

Charles Gaba, Health Care Analyst: Tennessee Premiums Would Have Dropped By 23 Percent If Not For GOP Sabotage. “Regardless, the net effect of all this is that Tennessee premiums are now expected to drop by around 11.1% overall instead of 5.7%…but they still would have dropped even further (around 23% by my estimates) if not for ACA sabotage factors.” [ACASignups, 8/22/18]

Julie Mix McPeak, President of National Association of Insurance Commissioners and TN Insurance Commissioner: GOP Sabotage Could Raise Premiums Yet Again For Next Year. “Obamacare premiums for 2019 would go up 5 percent to 10 percent on top of rate increases that were previously expected because of uncertainty raised by the Trump administration’s suspension of payments among insurers to cover sick enrollees. That is what Tennessee Insurance Commissioner Julie Mix McPeak told me in an interview about the impact of the Department of Health and Human Services’ July 7 announcement that it was suspending $10.4 billion in transfer payments among insurers due to a ruling in February by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico.” [Bloomberg Law, 7/20/18]

 

FACT: ON HIS FIRST DAY IN OFFICE, PRESIDENT TRUMP SIGNED AN EXECUTIVE ORDER DIRECTING THE ADMINISTRATION TO IDENTIFY EVERY WAY IT CAN UNRAVEL THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

 

…and he’s been sabotaging our health care each day since.

protectourcare
In News

It’s Time to Come Clean: Blackburn Lies About Her Record On Pre-Existing Conditions During Senate Debate

Washington DC – In response to last night’s Senate debate between Marsha Blackburn and Phil Bredesen, Protect Our Care issued the following statement from Dr. Thomas Phelps:

“Representative Marsha Blackburn wants to have it both ways: she says she supports protections for Tennesseans with pre-existing conditions, but her voting record shows otherwise. Rep. Blackburn’s vote for the American Health Care Act (AHCA) last May was a vote to weaken protections for at least 2.7 million Tennesseans with pre-existing conditions, and no amount of backtracking she does now can make up for that.”

In fact, when Marsha Blackburn couldn’t even defend her own health care voting record, she turned to calling the ACA “HillaryCare” to distract from the real threat at hand – the gutting of protections for Tennesseans for pre-existing conditions.

A current lawsuit filed by 20 Republican state officials threatens to gut the provision of the ACA that protects people with pre-existing conditions from discrimination by insurers. Rep. Blackburn has still not signed on to Rep. Jacky Rosen’s resolution that would authorize the House’s legal counsel to go to court and defend these provisions.

 

A Deeper Dive Into Blackburn’s Record on Pre-Existing Conditions

 

Although Blackburn Claims To Support Coverage For People With Pre-Existing Conditions She Voted For Legislation That Would Have Gutted Those Protections

 

Blackburn Claimed That AHCA Would Protect People With Pre-Existing Conditions And That Laws Preventing Discrimination Against Pre-Existing Conditions Were A Republican Idea.  “Yes, they are expecting to still be in there, pre-existing conditions and older children, young adults up to the age of 26. Actually, pre-existing conditions and 26-year-olds were two Republican provisions which made it into the [Obamacare] bill.” [Marsha Blackburn, Town Hall, 2/21/17]

  • The Washington Post Fact Checker Rated Blackburn’s Claim “Four Pinocchios.”  “There is no evidence that either of these popular elements of the ACA ‘were Republican provisions,’ as Blackburn claims. In fact, Blackburn is on record as promoting the concept of federally funded ‘high-risk pools’ even on the eve of the House vote for the Democratic bill that included a robust provision to bar insurance companies from refusing to cover preexisting conditions. Similarly, the Obama White House and House Democrats were the prime movers of the under-26 provision. Blackburn earns Four Pinocchios.” [Washington Post, 2/28/17]

What Did AHCA Mean For Pre-Existing Conditions?

  • The American Health Care Act weakens key protections of the Affordable Care Act by allowing states to let insurers charge people with pre-existing conditions more, among other provisions. The bill would also make it more likely insurers would cherrypick young and healthier people, causing costs to skyrocket for older, sicker people.

 

 

  • Politifact found that AHCA “would weaken protections” for those with pre-existing conditions and “would allow states to give insurers the power to charge people significantly more.”

 

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In News

Billings Local Leaders Champion ACA and Call for Continued Access to Health Care

Former Region 8 Health and Human Services Director Kim Gillan Speaks in Billings.

BILLINGS, MONTANA – Today, local and national health care advocates met at RiverStone Health in Billings to host a roundtable discussion highlighting the importance of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to Montanans.

The event was part of Protect Our Care’s national “Care Force One Tour”. The group is traveling 11,505 miles across the country, with 48 events in 23 states, to give community members, elected officials, and health care experts the opportunity to share personal stories about the ACA and how it has benefitted Montanans.

Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs for RiverStone Health, Barbara Schneeman, opened by emphasizing the importance of the ACA to Montana.“Prior to the ACA MT had one of the highest rates of uninsured persons in the country, it’s now 7.5%. The ACA has not only opened health care to more people but provided primary physician training and support to those health care professionals serving our state. The ACA allows Montanans to get the care they need, when they need it.”

Schneeman was joined by RiverStone Health physician, Dr. Mike Geurin who said, “Because patients have an ongoing source of care, we are able to educate them about when to call us and when a trip to the ER is the best option. Providing preventative services and reducing wait times for emergency care benefits all of us, because illness doesn’t recognize personal wealth, insurance status, or political party.”

The ACA also covers preventative services for Montanans – like flu shots, cancer screenings, contraception, and mammograms – which encourages patients to seek preventative care, making them healthier in the long-run and saves significant costs down the road.

Kim Gillan, former Region 8 Health and Human Services Director and Protect Our Care Montana committee member, discussed the impacts current efforts to dismantle the ACA would have on Montanans across the state. “Among the 429,500 Montanans with pre-existing conditions, there are 54,000 Montana children that already have a pre-existing condition. Without protections for them, what will their future hold? What if no work-provided insurance will cover them? How can they be productive members of society constantly living in fear that they will not have access to health care?”

Protect Our Care member and advocate, Laura Packard, shared a personal story of being diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer and receiving health care coverage through the ACA. “If I still had junk insurance, I would now be bankrupt or dead. Without the ACA, no insurance company would choose to give me a policy. We need to fight the sabotage and ensure future generations have access to comprehensive health care they deserve.”

Rep. Kathy Kelker, HD 47, shared facts about Montana’s Medicaid expansion, which as supported by the ACA, provides access health care to all Montanans, including those in Yellowstone County. “96,656 adults, including 13,941 here in Yellowstone County were able to gain access to health care, including cancer screenings, vaccinations, wellness visits, and dental exams.”

Sen. Mary McNally, SD24, added, “Critical access hospitals in the states who have expanded Medicaid are six hundred less likely to close than in states who haven’t expanded Medicaid. Since 2010, 83 rural hospitals across the country have closed, with 90% of those closures happening in states that refused to expand Medicaid. We’re so lucky that isn’t the case in anywhere in Montana.”

The Montana Department of Public Health and Human services recently released a Medicaid dashboard tool, a new interactive online dashboard offering information about the health benefits and local impact of Montana’s Medicaid expansion.

Before the ACA, many Montanans had never carried health insurance and had difficulty accessing care. Unfortunately, no navigator assistance funding was received in Montana this year. Stacey Anderson, of Montana Primary Care Association, discussed efforts to assist Montanans in accessing health care for the first time. “Since 2013, navigator grants were given to non-profits to hire people to help uninsured people enroll in coverage through the exchange or through Montana’s Medicaid. This is a big loss to Montana as the navigator grants helped folks “navigate” the complexity of signing up for health insurance. The good news is that Montana’s Community Health Centers are picking up the slack.”

Open enrollment for the ACA marketplaces in Montana begins on November 1, 2018. People can visit www.covermt.org, put in their zip code, and connect with community members who are certified to assist in accessing and navigating the health insurance marketplace.

Protect our Care Montana is an organization of Montana leaders focused on educating the public about the impacts and importance of the Affordable Care Act. “Care Force One” will also travel to Butte and Missoula on Friday, October 12. Find out more at https://protectourcarebustour.com/.

####

  • It’s expected that 40 year old Montanans will face paying an extra $1,330 for marketplace coverage in 2019 if efforts to undermine the marketplace continue.
  • Montana expanded Medicaid under the ACA and the 96,000 Montanans who have gained coverage because of this program would find their care at risk if the law were repealed.
  • Junk insurance plans that charge money for skimpy coverage could return to Montana and 26,000 Montananscould lack comprehensive coverage in 2019 because they will either become uninsured or will be enrolled in junk plans that don’t provide key health benefits.
  • 49,000 Montanans who have obtained health insurance through the ACA marketplace could lose their coverage if the current lawsuit continues; and protections for 426,000 Montanans living with a pre-existing condition would be in jeopardy.
protectourcare
In News, Roundup

Roundup: Trump’s Latest Attempt To Deceive The American People

From all four corners of the internet, Trump’s pack of health care lies in USA TODAY has been exposed. People will remember this as Trump’s latest detached-from-reality attempt to cover up the truth about the GOP’s war on health care.

Within hours of posting, Trump’s article received criticism from those who know health care the best. Here’s what they had to say:

Washington Post: “Almost Every Sentence Contained A Misleading Statement Or Falsehood.” “President Trump wrote an opinion article for USA Today on Oct. 10 regarding proposals to expand Medicare to all Americans — known as Medicare-for-All — in which almost every sentence contained a misleading statement or a falsehood. Many of these are claims we have already debunked. Presumably, the president is aware of our fact checks — he even links to two — but chose to ignore the facts in service of a campaign-style op-ed.” [Washington Post, 10/10/18]

Vox: Trump’s USA Today Op-ed On Health Care Is An Absurd Tissue Of Lies. “USA Today published an op-ed bylined by President Donald Trump Wednesday morning that’s so dishonest it could almost have been Trump speaking extemporaneously at a rally. In fact, it’s so dishonest that some clever editor appears to have subversively snuck links into the text that debunk some of its key claims — it’s hard to believe that Trump or his communications staff would have done so…Follow the ‘pre-existing conditions’ link and you’ll get a Washington Post fact-check item explaining that Trump has betrayed this promise. Follow the ‘new health care insurance options’ link and you’ll find Trump talking during the campaign about allowing insurance plans to be sold across state lines, which hasn’t happened. Most importantly of all, if you follow the link for ‘eviscerated Medicare’ you find a New York Times analysis of Sen. Bernie Sanders’s Medicare-for-all plan that concludes that Medicare enrollees ‘would have more generous coverage’ under his plan. This is the core lie of Trump’s op-ed.” [Vox, 10/10/18]

New York Magazine: “The Most Perfectly Emblematic Fact About Trump’s Health-care Record Is That He Has Written An Op-ed Pointing Out That He Has Broken His Own Promises.” “The most striking thing about the op-ed, other than the ludicrous claim to have fulfilled his promise on preexisting conditions, is that it does not mention his biggest and most important health-care campaign promise: to cover everybody. Trump promised this over and over…If protections for people with preexisting conditions remain in place, it will be only because his administration loses its legal fight to eliminate them. Whether Trump is more than dimly aware of any of these facts is an open question. The most perfectly emblematic fact about Trump’s health-care record is that he has written an op-ed pointing out that he has broken his own promises.” [New York Magazine, 10/10/18]

PolitiFact: Trump’s Claims on Medicare Are “Horrible Mischaracterization.” “This is a ‘horrible mischaracterization of the proposal,’ said Linda Blumberg of the Urban Institute. Medicare for All would actually give an expanded version of traditional Medicare to everyone, with broader coverage — including items such as dental and vision care — while eliminating virtually all out of pocket costs, she said.” [PolitiFact, 10/10/18]

Michael Hiltzik For Los Angeles Times: “The op-ed Bristles With Lies And Misrepresentations.” “USA Today gave President Trump a big gift Wednesday by publishing a largely fact-free attack on the “Medicare for all” plan promoted by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), disguised as an op-ed written by Trump himself. In strictly factual terms, the op-ed bristles with lies and misrepresentations about Medicare for all, Medicare itself, Trump’s own healthcare policies, and Democratic and Republican approaches to Medicare.” [Los Angeles Times, 10/10/18]

NPR: “The President Is Trying To Play On The Fears Of Seniors.” “The president is trying to play on the fears of seniors — who vote in large numbers — with the claim that any effort to improve health security for younger Americans must come at their expense. But that is a false choice.” [NPR, 10/10/18]

Trump Claims Health Premiums Are Decreasing, When Some Are In Fact Rising. PolitiFact: “Trump references an article about the cost of ‘benchmark’ plans under the Affordable Care Act falling 2 percent in 2019. But it’s worth noting that the decline occurred after ACA premiums rose significantly in 2018 due to uncertainty about what the Trump administration would do with the law. In addition, ACA premiums are a minority of all private health insurance premiums. In its annual survey of health insurance benefits, Kaiser reported earlier this month that for employer-sponsored health insurance, the average premium for a solo policyholder increased 3 percent over the past year, while the average family premium increased by 5 percent. That exceeded the growth in employee wages and overall inflation.” [PolitiFact, 10/10/18]

Media Matters: “The Piece Is A Conglomeration Of Previously Debunked Distortions And Outright Lies.” “The piece is a conglomeration of previously debunked distortions and outright lies common to Trump’s stump speeches, leading several reporters to criticize the paper for its role…In one particularly gobsmacking case, USA Today allowed Trump to claim that as ‘a candidate, I promised that we would protect coverage for patients with pre-existing conditions’ and that as president, he has ‘kept that promise.’ The paper’s Twitter feed even highlighted that passage in a tweet. Republicans’ position on this issue is one of bottomless bad faith, an effort to confuse the public by saying they supports protections for people with pre-existing conditions while acting to deregulate the health insurance industry.” [Media Matters, 10/10/18]

Jim Acosta, CNN’s Chief White House Correspondent: “This Column May Break The Record For The Number Of Falsehoods From A President Ever Published In A Newspaper Op-ed.” “This column may break the record for the number of falsehoods from a President ever published in a newspaper op-Ed. Just this tweet alone is false – ‘outlaw private health care plans’ and ‘letting anyone cross our border’ Huh? Fact check: false and false. Come on USA Today.” [Acosta, 10/10/18]

Dan Gillmor, Professor At Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism And Mass Communication: Op-ed “Full Of Outright Lies.” “Publishing this op-ed is journalistic malpractice. It is full of outright lies, easily demonstrated lies. Disgraceful.” [Gillmor, 10/10/18]

GQ: Publishing Lie-ridden Op-ed Launders Trump’s “Standard-issue Dishonesty Through A Medium That Readers Depend On For Independence And Objectivity.” “At this point we all know that the president is an unhinged serial liar who literally makes things up for applause. Because the First Amendment exists, there is no way to prevent him from doing so. But publishing this embarrassing collection of inane vagaries—and hiding behind its “opinion” framing, as if there is no distinction between good-faith, fact-based disagreements and facially absurd lies—launders his standard-issue dishonesty through a medium that readers depend on for independence and objectivity.” [GQ, 10/10/18]

The Root: USA Today Allows Trump To Publish Fake News. “For some reason—possibly because USA Today is trying to get into the good graces of the president, or maybe they just wanted some press—USA Today allowed the Donald J. Trump to publish an op-ed that is full of mistruths that only become apparent when you’re done reading the lies. In short, USA Today published fake news.” [The Root, 10/10/18]

protectourcare
In News

As Trump Comes to Erie: Lou Barletta and Mike Kelly Are Two Peas In A Pod Trying to End Health Care

Washington DC – As President Trump prepares to stump for Congressional Republicans tonight in Erie, Pennsylvania, Reps. Lou Barletta and Mike Kelly are hard at work sabotaging health care. But after two years with Donald Trump in the White House and the GOP controlled Congress, a new report shows Pennsylvanians are still struggling to keep up with the rising costs of health care and prescription drug prices. Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care, issued the following statement ahead of Trump’s campaign appearance:

 

“Let’s be clear, Lou Barletta and Mike Kelly aren’t focused on the millions of hard-working Americans with pre-existing conditions, they are only focused on lining the pockets of big insurance companies and continuing their war against our health care. Mike Kelly himself said it’s a ‘business proposition’ for insurance companies to deny coverage for pre-existing conditions and Lou Barletta refuses to stand up against Trump’s lawsuit to gut protections for pre-existing conditions. Barletta and Kelly are two peas in a pod, breaking promise after promise when it comes to lowering out-of-pocket costs and protecting our health care. Pennsylvanians are rightfully angry about their record.”

 

Additional Background:

 

Lou Barletta and Mike Kelly’s Record On Health Care are In Conflict with Their Constituents’ Wishes

 

Barletta and Kelly Voted to Repeal The ACA And Its Protections For 5.3 Million Pennsylvanians with Pre-Existing Conditions Numerous Times

 

  • Barletta Boated Of Voting More Than 30 Times To Repeal The ACA.  “Even though the United States Supreme Court said the president’s healthcare law is a constitutional law, that doesn’t mean it is a good law.  The decision was a victory for big government and a defeat for individual freedom. Since being sworn in, I have voted to protect and strengthen seniors’ benefits by repealing the president’s healthcare law over thirty times.” [Barletta.House.Gov, accessed 10/3/18]
  • Kelly Said His Goal Was “Full Repeal.”  “Representative Kelly and House Republicans have tackled ObamaCare on all fronts and share the same end goal: full repeal.” [Kelly.House.Gov, accessed 9/24/18]


Barletta and Kelly Voted For The AHCA, Which Would Eliminate Protections for Pre-Existing Conditions and Increase Premiums.

 

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

 

Mike Kelly Said That Insurers Should Be Able To Discriminate Against Pre-Existing Conditions Under AHCA Because “It Is A Business Proposition.” “Mike Kelly: Pre-existing is very important to the people I represent back home. I understand that. I will fight for those things, but at the end of the day, at the end of the day, there is a business proposition that’s going to be put out there. Insurers are no different than any other business out there. You look at the market that you serve, you look at the people that you serve and you come up with different plans. So there’s not a one size fits all. And certainly for younger people and healthy people, they say why should I be taxed with all these increases? When you say, look, it’s in the whole. In the whole, how are we going to get there? It is a business. It is a business proposition.” [“CNN Newsroom,” CNN, 5/1/17]

 

Barletta Refused To Oppose The Trump Administration’s Lawsuit To Strip Protections For People With Pre-Existing Conditions.  “Republican U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, who’s running against Casey in the fall Senate race, would not comment on the court fight but said he’d support bills to protect that coverage. ‘Regardless of what happens here, there has to be a plan that makes sure that there’s coverage for pre-existing conditions. We can’t leave them out without any insurance,’ Barletta told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 during a campaign stop in Beaver County.” [WTAE, 8/8/18]

 

How Their Votes Would Harm People in Pennsylvania

 

Total Repeal of the ACA Would Eliminate:

What would full repeal of the Affordable Care Act eliminate?

  • Protections for 5.3 million Pennsylvanians with pre-existing conditions, if they buy coverage on their own
  • Improvements to Medicare, including reduced costs for prescription drugs
  • Allowing kids to stay on their parents’ insurance until age 26
  • Ban on annual and lifetime limits
  • Ban on insurance discrimination against women
  • Limits on out-of-pocket costs
  • Medicaid expansion, currently covering 15 million people
  • Rules to hold insurance companies accountable
  • Small business tax credits
  • Marketplace tax credits and coverage for up to 363,000 Pennsylvanians.

 

The American Health Care Act weakens key protections of the Affordable Care Act by allowing states to let insurers charge people with pre-existing conditions more, among other provisions. The bill would also make it more likely insurers would cherrypick young and healthier people, causing costs to skyrocket for older, sicker people.

 

The American Health Care Act 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.

 

In Pennsylvania, AHCA would mean that in in 2026, 777,000 Pennsylvanians would lose coverage and 51,586 Pennsylvanians to lose their jobs by 2022.

 

 

 

ashoup
In News

SHOCKER: Senate Republicans Block Resolution to Protect People with Pre-existing Conditions from Trump’s Junk Plans Rule

“Now it’s clear once and for all where the Senate Republicans who have feigned to care for people with pre-existing conditions actually stand,” said Brad Woodhouse

Washington, D.C. – Following Senate Republicans blocking Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)’s discharge petition to force a vote on her resolution to block insurers from selling the Trump Administration’s short-term, junk insurance plans, Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care, issued the following statement:

“Wait. Republicans who voted to eliminate pre-existing conditions protections, upend our health care system, slash Medicare and Medicaid – all while working to pass record-breaking tax cuts for insurance companies and the wealthy – don’t actually support protections for people with pre-existing conditions? Color me shocked. The failure of Senate Republicans to step up and stand up against the Trump Administration’s attack on pre-existing conditions protections with these junk plans should make it clear once and for all where the Senate Republicans who have feigned to care for people with pre-existing conditions actually stand.”

These Senate Republicans Who Professed Support for Pre-existing Conditions Protections Have Made Crystal Clear Where they Stand:

Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV): May 2017: Heller: “We Need Assurances That People With Pre-Existing Conditions Will Be Protected.” [The Hill, 5/4/18]

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ): “The last thing we need to happen is to have people who have coverage now, to have that coverage that coverage yanked out from under them. Every plan that has been put forward that I will support continues to support those with pre-existing conditions having continued coverage. That’s important.” [Town Hall, 12:40-13:10, 4/13/2017]

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA): “There Are A Lot Of Consensus In Washington That The One Issue You Brought Up — Pre-Existing Conditions — Should Not Be Changed.” [Politico, 2/27/17]

Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE): “I haven’t heard anybody say that they want to get rid of pre-existing conditions.” [Omaha World Herald, 6/18/18]

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD): We Did Not Intend To Remove Protections For People With Pre-Existing Conditions When We Repealed The Individual Mandate.  [Talking Points Memo, 6/13/18]

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN): “I didn’t hear a single senator say that they also thought they were repealing protections for people with pre-existing conditions.” [Axios, 6/13/18]

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT): “”No American should be denied health coverage based on their pre-existing medical conditions.” [CBS News, 6/13/18]

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) Opposed The Cruz Amendment: “I Think That Reopens An Issue That I Can’t Support, That It Would Make It Too Difficult For People With Pre-Existing Conditions To Get Coverage.” [Charleston Gazette Mail, 7/8/17]

Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY): “Protecting Americans with pre-existing conditions remains a key priority for me.” [Star Tribune, 6/16/18]

Short-term Plans Hurt People with Pre-existing Conditions

Short-Term Plans May Exclude Coverage For Pre-Existing Conditions. “Policyholders who get sick may be investigated by the insurer to determine whether the newly-diagnosed condition could be considered pre-existing and so excluded from coverage.” [Kaiser Family Foundation, 2/9/18]

  • As Many As 130 Million Nonelderly Americans Have A Pre-Existing Condition. [Center for American Progress, 4/5/17]
  • One in 4 Children Would Be Impacted If Insurance Companies Could Deny Coverage Or Charge More Because Of A Pre-existing Condition. [Center for American Progress, 4/5/17]

Junk Plans Mean Higher Premiums For People With Pre-Existing Conditions. “By promoting short-term policies, the administration is making a trade-off: lower premiums and less coverage for healthy people, and higher premiums for people with preexisting conditions who need more comprehensive coverage.” [Washington Post, 5/1/18]

Short-Term Junk Plans Can Refuse To Cover Essential Health Benefits. “Typical short-term policies do not cover maternity care, prescription drugs, mental health care, preventive care, and other essential benefits, and may limit coverage in other ways.” [Kaiser Family Foundation, 2/9/18]

Under Many Short-Term Junk Plans, Benefits Are Capped At $1 Million Or Less. Short-term plans can impose lifetime and annual limits –  “for example, many policies cap covered benefits at $1 million or less.” [Kaiser Family Foundation, 2/9/18]

For more information, see Protect Our Care’s fact sheet on short-term junk plans.

ashoup
In News

FACT CHECK: FOUR BIG HEALTH CARE LIES IN TRUMP’S OP-ED

Plus All the Others, from the Washington Post

Trump’s op-ed is full of lies as brazen as any he’s ever told. Here are four things he got wrong – way wrong – on health care.

ONE: TRUMP AND REPUBLICANS WANT TO END PROTECTIONS FOR PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS

The Trump administration has refused to defend the ACA against a lawsuit brought by conservative leaders in 20 states and even agrees with them that the ACA’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions should be overturned.

Because Of The Affordable Care Act, Insurance Companies Can No Longer Deny Coverage Or Charge More Because Of Pre-Existing Conditions. “Under current law, health insurance companies can’t refuse to cover you or charge you more just because you have a ‘pre-existing condition’ — that is, a health problem you had before the date that new health coverage starts.” [HHS]

The ACA Outlawed Medical Underwriting, The Practice That Let Insurance Companies Charge Sick People And Women More. As the Brookings Institution summarizes, “The ACA outlawed medical underwriting, which had enabled insurance carriers to court the healthiest customers while denying coverage to people likely to need costly care. The ACA guaranteed that all applicants could buy insurance and that their premiums would not be adjusted for gender or personal characteristics other than age and smoking.”

The ACA Stopped Companies From Charging Women More Than Men For The Same Plan. The Affordable Care Act eliminated “gender rating,” meaning American women no longer have to pay an aggregated $1 billion more per year than men for the same coverage.

Thanks To The Affordable Care Act, Insurance Companies Can No Longer Drop Coverage Because of Illness. Because of the ACA, insurance companies can no longer rescind or cancel someone’s coverage arbitrarily if they get sick.

If the courts rule in favor of the Republican attorneys general, critical Affordable Care Act protections would vanish overnight, unleashing chaos in our entire health care system. Here is what could be eliminated:

  • 17 million more people could lose their coverage in a single year, leading to a 50 percent increase in the uninsured rate
  • Protections for 130 million people with pre-existing conditions, if they buy coverage on their own
  • Improvements to Medicare, including reduced costs for prescription drugs
  • Allowing kids to stay on their parents’ insurance until age 26
  • Ban on annual and lifetime limits
  • Ban on insurance discrimination against women and people over age 50
  • Limit on out-of-pocket costs
  • Medicaid expansion currently covering 15 million people
  • Small business tax credits
  • Marketplace tax credits for up to 9 million people

TWO: TRUMP’S “NEW HEALTH INSURANCE OPTIONS” ARE ACTUALLY JUNK PLANS

Short-Term Plans May Exclude Coverage For Pre-Existing Conditions. “Policyholders who get sick may be investigated by the insurer to determine whether the newly-diagnosed condition could be considered pre-existing and so excluded from coverage.” [Kaiser Family Foundation, 2/9/18]

  • As Many As 130 Million Nonelderly Americans Have A Pre-Existing Condition. [Center for American Progress, 4/5/17]
  • 1 in 4 Children Would Be Impacted If Insurance Companies Could Deny Or Charge More Because Of A Pre-Existing Condition. [Center for American Progress, 4/5/17]

Short-Term Junk Plans Can Refuse To Cover Essential Health Benefits. “Typical short-term policies do not cover maternity care, prescription drugs, mental health care, preventive care, and other essential benefits, and may limit coverage in other ways.” [Kaiser Family Foundation, 2/9/18]

Under Many Short-Term Junk Plans, Benefits Are Capped At $1 Million Or Less. Short-term plans can impose lifetime and annual limits –  “for example, many policies cap covered benefits at $1 million or less.” [Kaiser Family Foundation, 2/9/18]

Commonwealth Fund: “Cost Sharing Designs In Short-Term Coverage Leave Members Facing Major, Unpredictable Financial Risk.” “The out-of-pocket maximum for each best-selling plan is higher than that allowed in individual or employer plans under the ACA, when adjusting for the shorter plan duration. When considering the deductible, the best-selling plans have out-of-pocket maximums ranging from $7,000 to $20,000 for just three months of coverage. In comparison, the ACA limits out-of-pocket maximums to $7,150 for the entire year.” [Commonwealth Fund, 8/11/17]

Short-Term Junk Plans Can Retroactively Cancel Coverage After Patients File Claims. “Individuals in STLDI plans would be at risk for rescission. Rescissions are retroactive cancellations of coverage, often occurring after individuals file claims due to medical necessity. While enrollees in ACA coverage cannot have their policy retroactively cancelled, enrollees in STLDI plans can.” [Wakely/ACAP, April 2018]

Short-Term Junk Plan Currently Being Sold In Thirteen States Does Not Cover Services For Patients Admitted To Hospital On The Weekend. “That brings us to the short-term plan marketed by UnitedHealth’s Golden Rule subsidiary….To begin with, the Golden Rule plan excludes pregnancy and provides for a lifetime maximum benefit of only $250,000. Remarkably, it won’t cover hospital room, board or nursing services for patients admitted to a hospital on a Friday or Saturday, unless for an emergency or for necessary surgery the next day.” [Los Angeles Times, 4/26/18]

THREE: TRUMP’S HEALTH CARE SABOTAGE IS DRIVING COSTS UP FOR CONSUMERS

Larry Levitt, Senior Vice President Of Kaiser Family Foundation: Premiums Would Be Going Down If Not For Insurance Companies Compensating For Unstable Environment. “ACA premiums are stable for 2019 because they went up so much this year due to an uncertain environment and regulatory actions by the Trump administration. Premiums would be going down a lot if not for repeal of the individual mandate penalty and expansion of short-term plans.” [Levitt, 9/27/18]

Brookings Analysis Estimates That Individual Market Premiums Would Decrease If Not For GOP Sabotage. Among its key findings:

  • Estimates That Average Premium Would Fall By 4.3 Percent In 2019 In Stable Policy Environment. “I estimate that the nationwide average per member per month premium in the individual market would fall by 4.3 percent in 2019 in a stable policy environment.” [Brookings Institution, 8/1/18]
  • Insurance Companies’ Revenues Will Far Exceed Their Costs In 2018. “I project that insurers’ revenues in the ACA-compliant individual market will far exceed their costs in 2018, generating a positive underwriting margin of 10.5 percent of premium revenue. This is up from a modest positive margin of 1.2 percent of premium revenue in 2017 and contrasts sharply with the substantial losses insurers incurred in the ACA-compliant market in 2014, 2015, and 2016. The estimated 2018 margin also far exceeds insurers’ margins in the pre-ACA individual market. ” [Brookings Institution, 8/1/18]
  • Absent Republican Sabotage, Average Premiums For ACA-Compliant Plans Would Likely Fall In 2019. “In this analysis, I define a stable policy environment as one in which the federal policies toward the individual market in effect for 2018 remain in effect for 3 2019. Notably, this scenario assumes that the individual mandate remains in effect for 2019, but also assumes that policies implemented prior to 2018, like the end of CSR payments, remain in effect as well. Under those circumstances, insurers’ costs would rise only moderately in 2019, primarily reflecting normal growth in medical costs.” [Brookings Institution, 8/1/18]

Health Care Analyst, Charles Gaba Has Calculated That Across The Country, Premiums Will Increase By An Average Of 3.3 Percent In 2019. The average premium increases indicate that premiums nationwide will be 7.6 percent higher than they would have been absent GOP sabotage. [Charles Gaba, Accessed 9/27/18]

FOUR: TRUMP AND REPUBLICANS WANT TO UNDERMINE MEDICARE

Last month, Larry Kudlow, Director of the National Economic Council, confirmed that he has his sights on cutting Medicare. Asked when programs like Social Security and Medicare will be looked at for reforms, Kudlow replied, “Everyone will look at that — probably next year.”

 

Paul Ryan on Medicare: “It’s the biggest entitlement we’ve got to reform.” Paul Ryan, December 6, 2017: “We’re going to have to get back next year at entitlement reform, which is how you tackle the debt and the deficit…Frankly, it’s the health care entitlements that are the big drivers of our debt, so we spend more time on the health care entitlements…In- think the president is understanding that choice and competition works everywhere in health care, especially in Medicare…This has been my big thing for many, many years. I think it’s the biggest entitlement we’ve got to reform.”

President Trump and Congressional Republicans are targeting Medicare and Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest. Last December, President Trump signed a $1.5 trillion tax bill that disproportionately benefits the wealthy. How do Republicans plan on paying for it? Speaker Ryan’s answer is clear: “Frankly, it’s the health care entitlements that are the big drivers of our debt.” In an attempt to pay for these tax cuts, in April, House Republicans passed a budget amendment that would slash Medicare funding by $537 billion over the next decade.

 

Congressional Republicans proposed these cuts after passing a budget resolution last year that cut Medicare by $473 billion. The 2018 budget resolution passed by Republicans in December 2017 cut Medicare by $473 billion.

 

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 noticeably absent from President Trump’s recent prescription drug announcement.  

 

Congressional Republicans have repeatedly attempted to transform Medicare into a voucher program, which experts warn would lead to the “demise” of the program. Speaker Ryan has spoken about turning Medicare into a voucher system, and in Fall 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services filed a Request for Information concerning a shift in a “new direction” for Medicare, which Senate Democrats worried might entail a voucher system. Experts warn, and Republicans including Newt Gingrich acknowledge, that such a shift would lead to the demise of traditional Medicare as premiums increase.

 

Congressional Republicans repealed several components of the ACA designed to help keep Medicare’s costs down, effectively driving up costs for the program. By repealing the requirement that most people have insurance, Congressional Republicans knowingly voted for a measure expected to increase the number of uninsured. The 2018 Medicare Trustees Report predicts that this increase will increase the share of subsidies paid to hospitals via Medicare. Similarly, by repealing the Independent Payment Advisory Board, Congressional Republicans took away a mechanism that slowed Medicare cost growth.

 

….BUT DON’T JUST TAKE IT FROM US. NON-PARTISAN FACT CHECKERS ALL AGREE THAT TRUMP IS LYING ABOUT HEALTH CARE

 

Washington Post On Trump’s OpEd:   “Almost Every Sentence Contained A Misleading Statement Or A Falsehood” [Washington Post, 10/10/18]

 

FactCheck.Org:  “Trump Misleads on Preexisting Conditions.”  [FactCheck.org, 10/2/18]

 

FactCheck.Org:  Trump’s Claims About Declining Premiums Are “Misleading.”  [FactCheck.org, 9/28/18]

 

Associated Press:  Trump “Isn’t Playing It Straight” About Pre-Existing Conditions.  [Associated Press, 10/1/18]

 

PolitiFact:  Trump Has Put Pre-Existing Condition Protections “Under Threat By Lawsuit.”  [PolitiFact, 9/29/18]

 

PolitiFact:  Trump’s Claims About Democrats And Pre-Existing Conditions Are “Pants On Fire.”  [PolitiFact, 10/5/18]

 

New York Times:  “Trump Claims to Protect Pre-Existing Health Conditions. That’s Not What the Government Says.” [New York Times, 9/21/18]

ashoup
In News

REALITY CHECK: GOP is Losing, Bigly, On Medicare

Despite what President Trump may have claimed in his op-ed today, his political argument is as divorced from reality as the facts are. There’s no reality where voters view the GOP as defenders of Medicare and protections for people with pre-existing conditions.

For those who don’t care about the lies he’s making and are only interested in whether it’s working, it’s also failing, bigly, according to the newly released POLITICO/Morning Consult poll.

REALITY: Democrats have a 25-point advantage on party trust to protect Medicare.

REALITY: Voters know the Obama administration did the best it could with health care (57% to 38%) while they believe the Trump administration is not (36%-57%).

REALITY: Voters overwhelmingly back expansion of Medicaid in their state by 41 points (61%-20%).

ashoup
In News

FACT: Donald Trump is Dismantling Medicare

“Trump knows the deficit Republicans have created for themselves on health care is too steep to climb,” says Brad Woodhouse

Washington, DC – In a transparent effort to try to conceal Republicans’ anti-health care record from voters, President Trump is pushing a recycled, demonstrably false narrative that he and Republicans are the defenders of Medicare, when they’ve voted to dismantle and weaken the program repeatedly. In response, Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care, issued the following statement:

“Trump and his Republican allies are getting clobbered because of their record of slashing billions from Medicare in order to give huge breaks to the same drug companies that are robbing us blind, voting to increase costs for seniors in Medicare and working to dismantle Medicare by turning it into a ‘voucher’ program. Pushing this desperate lie proves that Trump knows the deficit Republicans have created for themselves on health care is too steep for them to climb.”

HERE ARE SOME OF THE WAYS TRUMP AND REPUBLICANS HAVE TRIED TO UNDERMINE MEDICARE:

  • Last month, Larry Kudlow, Director of the National Economic Council, confirmed that he has his sights on cutting Medicare. Asked when programs like Social Security and Medicare will be looked at for reforms, Kudlow replied, “Everyone will look at that — probably next year.”
  • Paul Ryan on Medicare: “It’s the biggest entitlement we’ve got to reform.” Paul Ryan, December 6, 2017: “We’re going to have to get back next year at entitlement reform, which is how you tackle the debt and the deficit…Frankly, it’s the health care entitlements that are the big drivers of our debt, so we spend more time on the health care entitlements…In- think the president is understanding that choice and competition works everywhere in health care, especially in Medicare…This has been my big thing for many, many years. I think it’s the biggest entitlement we’ve got to reform.”
  • President Trump and Congressional Republicans are targeting Medicare and Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest. Last December, President Trump signed a $1.5 trillion tax bill that disproportionately benefits the wealthy. How do Republicans plan on paying for it? Speaker Ryan’s answer is clear: “Frankly, it’s the health care entitlements that are the big drivers of our debt.” In an attempt to pay for these tax cuts, in April, House Republicans passed a budget amendment that would slash Medicare funding by $537 billion over the next decade.
  • Congressional Republicans proposed these cuts after passing a budget resolution last year that cut Medicare by $473 billion. The 2018 budget resolution passed by Republicans in December 2017 cut Medicare by $473 billion.
  • 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 noticeably absent from President Trump’s recent prescription drug announcement.  
  • Congressional Republicans have repeatedly attempted to transform Medicare into a voucher program, which experts warn would lead to the “demise” of the program. Speaker Ryan has spoken about turning Medicare into a voucher system, and in Fall 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services filed a Request for Information concerning a shift in a “new direction” for Medicare, which Senate Democrats worried might entail a voucher system. Experts warn, and Republicans including Newt Gingrich acknowledge, that such a shift would lead to the demise of traditional Medicare as premiums increase.
  • Congressional Republicans repealed several components of the ACA designed to help keep Medicare’s costs down, effectively driving up costs for the program. By repealing the requirement that most people have insurance, Congressional Republicans knowingly voted for a measure expected to increase the number of uninsured. The 2018 Medicare Trustees Report predicts that this increase will increase the share of subsidies paid to hospitals via Medicare. Similarly, by repealing the Independent Payment Advisory Board, Congressional Republicans took away a mechanism that slowed Medicare cost growth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ashoup
In News

Trump Seeks to Pack Appellate Court with Anti-Health Care Judges

Senate Judiciary Committee Considers Nominations of Two Extremists on Sixth Circuit

Washington, DC – Ahead of today’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nominations of Chad Readler, a key advisor on the Trump Administration’s lawsuit to end pre-existing conditions protections, and Eric Murphy, an extreme anti-women’s health judicial activist and ex-Big Tobacco corporate attorney, to lifetime appointments on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Leslie Dach, chair of Protect Our Care, issued the following statement:

“Whether it’s Chad Readler working to rip health care coverage away from the millions of Americans living with pre-existing conditions, or Eric Murphy siding with Big Tobacco over the American people, these are two anti-health care extremists unworthy of lifetime appointments on our federal courts. Period.”

At Risk with Chad Readler: Protections For 130 Million Americans With A Pre-Existing Condition

Roughly half of non-elderly American adults and one in four children, or up to 130 million people, have at least one pre-existing condition. That includes everyone with cancer, diabetes, asthma, and any form of mental health issue or drug abuse problem.  Prior to the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies were able to discriminate against them, by charging them more, dropping coverage once people got sick, or denying coverage altogether. The ACA banned all of those practices, providing health security to millions.

Ending protections for people with pre-existing conditions is the official policy of the Trump Administration. Chad Readler played a leading role in the the Trump Administration’s Department of Justice taking the extraordinary step of joining the latest partisan lawsuit that seeks to strike down the ACA and has argued the Courts put Americans at the mercy of insurance companies by overturning provisions in the law that now prevent insurance companies from denying coverage completely or charging people more because of a pre-existing condition. Experts estimate that even if a cancer patient could get covered, they would have to pay as much as $140,000 a year more in premiums.

At Risk with Eric Murphy: Women’s Health Care

Access to safe and legal abortion: By age 45, one in four women in the U.S. has had an abortion, for reasons that are deeply personal. But Eric Murphy has used his power as Ohio’s solicitor general to try to prevent women from accessing safe and legal abortion, including in a case that flouts the precedent in Roe vs. Wade and in a case that the Supreme Court found unconstitutional.  

Birth control coverage: Thanks to the ACA, 62.4 million women now have access to birth control with no out-of-pocket costs and as a result, women have saved $1.4 billion on birth control pills alone in 2013. However, Eric Murphy has sided against women and with employers who have sought to deny birth control coverage to their employees.

Access to Planned Parenthood: One in five women have turned to Planned Parenthood for care at some point in their lives for a wide range of health and education services, but numerous state and federal efforts are underway to block low-income women from continuing to rely on this provider of choice for so many. Eric Murphy defended an extreme law that would have prevented low-income women from breast and cervical cancer screenings, and sexual violence prevention services, at Planned Parenthood’s health centers in Ohio.

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