The Senate is considering another effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) before the end of the month. Last week, Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Dean Heller (R-NV), and Ron Johnson (R-WI) released a new plan to repeal and replace the ACA. This proposal is commonly referred to as Graham-Cassidy, and it must be considered by the Senate by September 30 in order to meet technical Senate rules for a 50 vote threshold.

The bill contains many of the same harmful provisions that PPMD and the patient advocacy community have opposed this year throughout the repeal process.

The Graham-Cassidy proposal would repeal federal ACA funding for premium support, cost-sharing subsidies, and Medicaid expansion, and replace it with block grants to states to use to implement their health insurance markets. It would also allow states to opt out of important patient protections and radically transform the Medicaid program and reduce funding for it. 

We must urge the Senate to #ProtectPatientsNow by voting “no” on the Graham-Cassidy proposal and instead continuing to support ongoing bipartisan efforts to stabilize the market and create long-term solutions for the healthcare system.

Graham-Cassidy will lead to unaffordable insurance for people with Duchenne and other complex health conditions and coverage that will be inadequate to meet their health care needs. 

More information:

• What is in Graham-Cassidy?
  • Graham-Cassidy will have a devastating impact on people with complex and chronic conditions.
  • People with complex and chronic conditions will pay more for less benefit. This is unacceptable.
  • Graham-Cassidy repeals the Medicaid expansion, premium tax credits, and cost-sharing reduction (CSR) payments, and redistributes the money to the states in block grants to operate their health care programs.
  • The premium tax credits, CSRs, and Medicaid expansion are all intended to help people afford their health care.
• The funding included in Graham-Cassidy would expire in 2026 without additional Congressional action.
• Graham-Cassidy also allows states to opt out of important protections that exist to protect people with chronic conditions.
  • States could waive community rating, which ensures that everyone pays the same premium, regardless of health status.
  • States could waive the essential health benefits requirements.
• In states that waive these requirements, people with chronic conditions may:
  • Pay higher premiums.
  • Have greater difficulty finding plans that cover all of their needed medicines and services.
  • Have no limit to their out-of-pocket expenses.
  • Be subject to lifetime and annual limits on their coverage.
• Graham-Cassidy contains the same harmful cuts to the Medicaid program as previous ACA repeal bills. These proposed cuts to Medicaid will harm the nation’s poorest and sickest populations. 
• By Congress reducing hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicaid payments to the states, states could cut enrollment, limit benefits, or reduce payment rates to providers and plans.