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Statement

Sean England
In Statement

Protect Our Care Statement on Senate Passage of Motion to Proceed

In response to the Senate voting to proceed on the GOP tax bill, Protect Our Care Campaign Director Brad Woodhouse released the following statement:

“Senate Republicans, with the enthusiastic support of President Trump, just voted to advance a bill that would rip away health coverage from 13 million people, raise premiums on millions more, impose an age tax on older Americans and slash Medicare by $25 billion,” said Woodhouse. “They are doing so to give tax breaks to golf resorts, private jet owners, the idle rich and multi-national corporations, all while raising taxes on the middle class. This bill is beyond terrible policy — it will devastate the lives of millions. This sneaky health care repeal scam is opposed by a coalition of nineteen leading patient groups and more than 2,400 faith leaders, as well as the vast majority of Americans. As this bill moves forward in the Senate, we will hold Members accountable for repealing the health care of the American people to give tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations.”

Sean England
In Statement

Protect Our Care Statement on CBO Analysis Confirming That Alexander-Murray Will Not Solve the…

In response to new findings from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office which determine that Alexander-Murray will have little effect on the country’s health care marketplace if the GOP goes through with their sneaky repeal, Protect Our Care Campaign Director Brad Woodhouse released the following statement:

“This confirms what every policy expert has been saying for weeks,” said Woodhouse. “Alexander-Murray means nothing if health care is repealed, and make no mistake, the GOP tax bill would do just that. Sneaky repeal would be disastrous, unnecessarily harming middle-class Americans, wrecking the country’s health care marketplace and cutting Medicare all to provide a tax cut to the wealthiest and corporations.

“Passing Alexander-Murray after voting for repeal is like installing guardrails on the highway after your car has gone over the cliff. It’s useless. Every Senator who doesn’t want to harm our nation’s health should vote against it.”

Sean England
In Statement

Protect Our Care Statement on Tax Bill Passing Out of Senate Budget Committee

In response to the news that the Senate Budget Committee voted 12–11 to advance the GOP tax bill, Protect Our Care Campaign Director Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement:

“This bill is a disgrace,” said Woodhouse. “It repeals our health care in order to give billionaires and corporations a massive tax break. It was crafted in secret, on a purely partisan basis, with no expert input, and its provisions are opposed by every major health group in America. This bill would kick 13 million Americans off of their insurance, raise premiums across the board, trigger a $25 billion cut to Medicare and further destabilize the insurance markets.

“If this bill passes, it is tantamount to repealing the Affordable Care Act. President Trump’s support for the Alexander-Murray bill is a sham. Alexander-Murray does nothing to make up for the damage the Senate bill causes and everyone knows that, including its authors. Even more cynically, the House leadership does not support the bill and House conservatives have referred to it as a ‘nonstarter.’

“This bill will rip health care away from millions and raise costs for millions more, hammering older Americans and people in rural areas. The consequences for middle-class Americans will be enormous. Shame on any senator who supports it.”

Sean England
In Statement

Protect Our Care Statement on Senate Finance Passage of Tax Bill

In response to the GOP tax bill — which contains a repeal of the individual mandate, something the CBO found would increase premiums double-digits and kick 13 million people off of their health insurance — passing the Senate Finance Committee, Protect Our Care Campaign Director Brad Woodhouse released the following statement:

“This is unconscionable,” said Woodhouse. “To say the GOP isn’t listening to their constituents would be the understatement of the year. Ten days ago voters across the country made clear their support of the Affordable Care Act, electing candidates who supported its expansion, voting out entrenched incumbents who backed repeal and resoundly passing a Medicaid expansion the first time the ACA was on the ballot. Now, just days later, the GOP is responding to this outpouring of support for the expansion of health care by moving forward legislation tantamount to its repeal.

“This bill would raise premiums double-digits across the board, kick 13 million people off of their health insurance and cut $25 billion from Medicare — all so the wealthiest Americans and corporations can get a tax break. Republicans in Congress are so insistent on giving their donors a tax cut that they have no problem raising health care costs for the middle-class families who need it most while crippling the health insurance marketplace. Republicans in the Senate who said ‘no’ to previous efforts at repeal should say ‘hell no’ to this one.”

Sean England
In Statement

Protect Our Care Statement On Potential Inclusion Of Individual Mandate Repeal In GOP Tax Bill

In response to the news that Congressional Republicans are mulling the inclusion of a repeal of the individual mandate in their tax plan — which the CBO estimated would raise premiums by double-digits and leave 13 million people without health coverage — Protect Our Care Campaign Director Brad Woodhouse released the following statement:

“It was exactly one week ago today that voters across the country sent a clear message rejecting the Republicans’ partisan health care repeal agenda, and yet here we are again,” said Woodhouse. “After repeatedly failing to repeal the Affordable Care Act, of which their legislation was the least-popular bill in three decades, Republicans are apparently trying once again to jam a partisan repeal down the throats of the American people to pay for tax breaks for the wealthiest individuals and corporations.

“The Congressional Budget Office found that repealing the individual mandate would raise premiums by double-digits and leave 13 million people without health coverage, sowing widespread chaos in the marketplace. Make no mistake, repealing the individual mandate is tantamount to repealing the Affordable Care Act and as such it would be wise for those few Republicans in the House and Senate who said ‘no’ to previous efforts at repeal to say ‘hell no’ to this one.”

Sean England
In Statement

Protect Our Care Statement on President Trump’s Nomination of Alex Azar to Head HHS

In response to President Donald Trump’s announcement that he is nominating Alex Azar to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, Protect Our Care Campaign Director Brad Woodhouse released the following statement:

“President Trump has nominated in Mr. Azar someone who shares his misguided and factually flawed views on the Affordable Care Act.” said Woodhouse. “Mr. Azar, a drug industry lobbyist, has been a harsh critic of the ACA and has gone so far as to say that the law is ‘circling the drain’ despite evidence to the contrary. In fact, the ACA is working despite President Trump and former HHS Secretary Tom Price’s repeated efforts to repeal and sabotage it — open enrollment is off to a strong start, plans remain affordable and every county in the country is covered.

“The nomination of a new HHS Secretary could be an opportunity for Trump and Republicans to turn the page on their repeal and sabotage agenda, especially in light of last week’s election results where Republicans lost across the country with the GOP’s unpopular health care agenda being a leading cause. Sadly, we know President Trump will never turn the page, and in Mr. Azar he he appears to be looking for a willing partner in his spiteful ongoing campaign to deny affordable health care to millions of Americans.”

Sean England
In Statement

Protect Our Care Statement On CBO Scoring of Individual Mandate Repeal

In response to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) releasing an updated analysis on the effects of a repeal of the individual mandate, Protect Our Campaign Director Brad Woodhouse released the following statement:

“Just one day after voters across the country sent a message rejecting partisan health repeal, the Congressional Budget Office once again showed why,” said Woodhouse. “The latest GOP attempt to repeal health care in the tax bill would raise premiums by double digits and leave 13 million more people without health coverage. All of this would be done to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest individuals and corporations.

“CBO also said premiums will go up even more if President Trump continues to sabotage our health care and refuses to make cost-sharing reduction payments. Congress should move immediately to pass the bipartisan Alexander-Murray bill to keep that from happening.

“After four failed attempts to repeal health care in the Senate and the absolute drubbing that pro-repeal candidates took across the country last night, it’s clear that a repeal of the individual mandate is not what people want and will have tremendous consequences. It’s time to move on.”

Sean England
In Statement

Protect Our Care Statement On Maine Voters Passing Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid Expansion

Medicaid Expansion in Maine Shows Support for Affordable Access to Health Care, Rejection of Trump, LePage Efforts to Sabotage ACA

Washington, D.C. — In the first popular vote in any state to expand Medicaid, the voters of Maine overwhelmingly supported expansion of Medicaid tonight — a key component of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Despite Republican Governor Paul LePage’s objections and vetoes, and the Republican Congress’s attempts to repeal and sabotage the ACA, voters spoke loud and clear — approving the measure by a vote of 59% to 40% and ensuring 80,000 Mainers get access to affordable health coverage.

“Tonight was the first voter referendum on a part of the Affordable Care Act — and voters voted in favor it, overwhelmingly,” said Protect Our Care Campaign Director Brad Woodhouse. “Not only would extending Medicaid provide coverage for 80,000 more Mainers, it would create 3,000 jobs in the health care industry across the state. Republicans from President Trump to Governor LePage to Congressman Poliquin have repeatedly tried to take health care away from people and increase costs with a scheme of repeal and sabotage. Tonight, the voters of Maine fought back. This measure’s results are a clear signal that voters oppose health care repeal and want to keep and strengthen the Affordable Care Act. If that message doesn’t get through, expect voters to continue to express themselves just as they did tonight.”

The strong show of support for Medicaid expansion in Maine is also in stark contrast to new controversial sabotage announced by the Trump Administration today, which places new hurdles to Medicaid coverage for hundreds of thousands of Americans, including dropping a requirement that such changes “increase and strengthen” health coverage. In its announcement, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Seema Verma said the goal of Medicaid covering more people is a “hollow victory of numbers.” Tonight, the people of Maine vehemently disagreed.

Sean England
In Statement

Statement Responding to Reports that President Trump Will Try to Unilaterally Repeal Health Care…

​In response to the news that President Donald Trump plans to sabotage the core building blocks of the Affordable Care Act through an executive order to repeal the individual mandate and has delayed signing the order in an attempt to get a repeal of the individual mandate into the GOP tax bill, Protect Our Care Campaign Director Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement:

“This is absurd,” said Woodhouse. “President Trump continues to play politics with people’s health care and sabotage the Affordable Care Act to pay for tax cuts for the super rich. The American people have made clear time and again that they do not support repeal, and repealing the mandate, whether by executive order or legislation, would unravel the Affordable Care Act and sow chaos in the health insurance market. This latest health care sabotage would raise premiums 20 percent and kick 15 million people off of their health insurance to pay for millionaires and billionaires to get a massive tax cut. It’s immoral and wrong to sacrifice the health care of millions of people so Trump’s children won’t have to pay taxes on what they inherit and so hedge fund managers and Wall Street financiers can continue to pay less tax on their earnings than their secretaries.

“Taking away health care for millions of people to give massive tax cuts to the wealthy few has sunk previous repeal attempts, as well as the approval rating of the President and congressional Republicans. Adding health care repeal to the tax bill should doom this legislation, as well. It’s time to move on from repeal.”

Sean England
In Statement

Protect Our Care Statement on GOP Once Again Targeting Health Care to Pay for Tax Breaks for the…

In response to the House GOP releasing its tax plan today that would eliminate a tax deduction for people with high medical costs, Protect Our Campaign Director Brad Woodhouse released the following statement:

“This would be a joke if the consequences weren’t so serious,” Woodhouse said. “The GOP just can’t help themselves. No matter the policy proposal under consideration, Republican leaders are determined to raise health care costs for middle-class families who need it most — in this case people with high medical costs or those paying for long-term care — so they can give more tax cuts to the rich. The American people want us to lower their health care costs. This tax plan would raise them for the sole purpose of funding more tax breaks for the well-to-do. If the GOP thinks passing tax breaks for the rich is hard now, try raising people’s health care costs to pay for them — we’ll be sure to make it even harder.”

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