Dear Editor – Karen Bass on Republican Health Bill

To the 37th District:

Last night, House Republicans introduced their plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Today, my offices in DC and LA have been flooded with hundreds of concerned calls about the effect that the new plan will have. Due to backlash today from both sides of the aisle, I want you to know that this bill is not a done deal and it still has a long way to go before it is declared law. If 5 to 10 Republicans oppose the bill in the House and 2 Republican Senators oppose the bill in the Senate, this bill is dead on arrival. This is not a done deal!

First things first: Should this bill come to the House Floor for a final vote, know that I will vote to defend your coverage and vote to keep your health care costs down.

I will vote no on this bill.

So what does the bill do?

The Individual Mandate – Repealed
One possible effect is that healthy people may be less likely to buy insurance, driving up prices for those who need it most.
Subsidies for out-of-pocket expenses – Repealed
Under the Affordable Care Act, the federal government provides tax credits to help some people pay deductibles and co-payments. The new plan repeals this.
Planned Parenthood – Defunded
The proposal would deny millions of women access to cancer screenings, birth control, and STD testing and treatment.
Medi-Cal expansion – Changed
The new plan allows states that expanded Medicaid to continue getting federal funding as they would have under the ACA until 2020. Most individuals that do not have employer-based care have Medi-Cal.
The proposed bill is in its very beginning stages. One of the more hypocritical aspects about this process thus far is that Republicans are rushing this bill out of committee without waiting for the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to give a final estimate of how much final passage will cost. When the CBO score is released, I’m confident that the voices in opposition on both sides of the aisle will rise.

Even without the CBO estimate though, opposition to this bill is already piling up. Along with prominent Senate Republicans and Members of the House Freedom Caucus, outside conservative groups including the Heritage Foundation, Americans for Prosperity, and the Club for Growth have already publicly opposed this bill. We will be working hard to make sure we have the votes to oppose this bill.

The more we learn of the Republican proposal, the more we see its intention. Know that I’m going to do all that I can to build off of the progress of the last 8 years.

Sincerely,

Congressmember Karen Bass