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Statement

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.”

Sean England
In Statement

Protect Our Care Statement On Republican Proposal to Repeal Health Care to Pay For Tax Cuts to the…

In response to President Trump and other GOP members calling for a repeal of the individual mandate to pay for tax cuts, Protect Our Care Campaign Director Brad Woodhouse released the following statement:

“This is a joke,” said Woodhouse. “Republicans are proposing to pay for hundreds of millions of dollar in high-income tax cuts by increasing the number of insured by 15 million and raising premiums by twenty percent, on top of the $1.5 trillion in tax cuts they aren’t paying for. Some Republicans understand how politically dumb this move would be, which is why they have been throwing cold water on it.”

“The American people have rejected health care repeal time and again,” said Woodhouse. “It’s time to move on.”

Sean England
In Statement

Protect Our Care Statement On Proposed CMS Rule

In response to the announcement of proposed rulemaking from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Protect Our Care Campaign Director Brad Woodhouse:

“This is an outrageous attempt to sabotage the Affordable Care Act through executive action,” said Woodhouse. “President Trump and his administration are unwilling to accept that Congress and the American people have rejected their historically-unpopular partisan repeal. President Trump is so intent on sticking it to President Obama that he is going out of his way to sabotage the Affordable Care Act no matter who it hurts — slashing funding for open enrollment, ending cost-sharing reduction payments and now proposing to gut the heart of the protections that ensure access to comprehensive affordable care critical to preventing discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions, which polling shows is the most popular provision of the law.

“President Trump routinely proclaims he is against insurer ‘bailouts,’ but this proposed rule would also allow insurance companies to fill their coffers by raising their rates and lowering consumer rebates at the expense of providing care and without the necessary scrutiny from state insurance regulators.

“The Trump administration should be focused on strengthening our health care system rather than sabotaging it. It’s beyond time for Republicans in Congress to stand up to this unprecedented assault on our nation’s health care system.”

Sean England
In Statement

Protect Our Care Statement Regarding President Trump’s Impending Public Health Emergency…

In response to President Trump’s impending declaration that the country’s opioid epidemic is a public health emergency, Protect Our Care Campaign Director Brad Woodhouse released the following statement:

“President Trump’s impending declaration of the opioid epidemic as a public health emergency is hollow when contrasted with his continued push to repeal the Affordable Care Act,” said Woodhouse. “The President and Republicans in Congress have repeatedly voted for health care repeal that would gut Medicaid, and take treatment away from people with substance use disorders. In some of the hardest hit states like Ohio and West Virginia, Medicaid pays for nearly half of buprenorphine-based medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorders. President Trump and the GOP have attempted to end Medicaid expansion through repeal, an act analysis after analysis after analysis after analysis has shown would only worsen the opioid crisis. If President Trump truly wants to help those suffering under this terrible epidemic, he’ll abandon his reckless and partisan efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.”

Sean England
In Statement

Protect Our Care Statement on Cost-Sharing Reduction Payments Decision

In response to today’s decision on cost-sharing reduction payments, Protect Our Care Campaign Director Brad Woodhouse released the following statement:

“Today’s decision only reinforces the need that Alexander-Murray needs to be passed immediately,” said Woodhouse. “The reality in health care is that President Trump’s sabotage is forcing premiums up 20 percent, growing the deficit by nearly 200 billion and making it more difficult for those who need health care to get it. That’s why a bipartisan majority of Senators agree that alleviating this sabotage through legislation is the best path forward. There is no time to waste — the Alexander-Murray bill should move forward immediately.”

Sean England
In Statement

Protect Our Care Statement on CBO Scoring of Alexander-Murray

In response to the CBO’s analysis of the bipartisan Alexander-Murray legislation, which found that the bill would reduce the federal deficit by $3.8 billion without coverage losses, Protect Our Care Campaign Director Brad Woodhouse released the following statement:

“Today’s CBO report only reinforces that passing Alexander-Murray is a no-brainer,” said Woodhouse. “CBO previously found that President Trump’s health care sabotage of cost-sharing reduction funds would result in premiums going up 20 percent, one million people losing their coverage and the nation’s debt increasing by nearly $200 billion. Alexander-Murray would provide deficit savings and maintain coverage for the American people.

“If the reasons Alexander-Murray has gained such strong bipartisan support in the Senate weren’t clear before, they certainly are now. It’s time for President Trump and House and Senate Republican leaders to get on board and do the right thing for the American people by passing Alexander-Murray without delay.”

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