Latest GOP Repeal Bill Hurts Seniors, Kids, People with Disabilities, Working Families, and Leaves States in Crisis on Their Own
The GOP has been consistent this year in its crusade against Medicaid, and the latest repeal proposal from Senate Republicans is no different. The Graham-Cassidy-Heller bill would end Medicaid as we know it, hurting seniors, children, people with disabilities, and working families, breaking key promises that the bill’s sponsors have made.
The Graham-Cassidy-Heller proposal would destroy Medicaid, turning it into a shrinking block grant that would not be able to support the nearly 75 million Americans who rely on Medicaid for their health care.
Here’s a look at just how damaging the latest repeal proposal is for Medicaid:
Graham-Cassidy-Heller would force states to raise taxes or make draconian cuts to schools and other priorities, and states would be left on their own when they need help the most in times of crisis and natural disasters.
- The severe cuts to Medicaid would blow a hole in state budgets, forcing states to either raise people’s taxes or make draconian cuts to schools or other vital programs.
- States and people would be left on their own at risk during natural disasters. Per capita caps would mean states facing higher costs due to increased health care needs during an epidemic like the Zika virus, or following a natural disaster like Hurricanes Harvey and Irma would be left on their own.
- Medicaid funding helps schools support children with disabilities get individualized attention and therapy, and helps eligible kids get vision and dental screenings. Severe cuts to school funding will affect not only students on Medicaid, but will trigger a domino effect that leads to across-the-board education cuts, threatening extra-curricular programs and forcing schools to expand class sizes.
End Medicaid expansion, which has extended coverage to over 14 million low-income adults.
- Graham-Cassidy-Heller ends the Medicaid expansion entirely, replacing it with a small, temporary block grant, and would threaten the health coverage of over 14 million Americans who currently rely on the program
- The block grant would then disappear altogether after 2026, repealing the program altogether despite the major coverage gains as a direct result of allowing states to expand Medicaid.
Disproportionately harm states that chose to expand Medicaid coverage, like Alaska, Louisiana and Nevada.
- States that expanded Medicaid are seeing record low uninsured rates according to the latest Census data. Under Graham-Cassidy-Heller, these same states would see the most significant cuts in federal funding.
- Louisiana, for example, had an uninsured rate of nearly 15 percent in 2014, and after expanding Medicaid that number dropped 5 points to just 10 percent in 2016.
- Louisiana would lose more than $3.2 billion in federal funding under Graham-Cassidy-Heller.
- Sen. Cassidy’s own bill would wipe out the recent progress made due to Medicaid expansion, and cost his state more than $3 billion.