Ahead of an expected vote on the GOP’s Graham-Cassidy healthcare legislation to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, Democrats and activists on the left are ramping up criticism of the bill, including how it will hurt people with a pre-existing condition because the Republican plan does not protect those individuals.
Supporters of the bill, including President Donald Trump, beg to differ.
“I would not sign Graham-Cassidy if it did not include coverage of pre-existing conditions. It does! A great Bill. Repeal & Replace,” Trump tweeted on Wednesday:
As Breitbart News reported Wednesday morning, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) went on CNN to try to set the record straight on the legislation that he and Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Ron Johnson (R-MN), and Dean Heller (R-NV) had crafted with the help of former Sen. Rick Santorum.
“Under Graham, Cassidy, Heller, Johnson, more people will have coverage, and we protect those with pre-existing conditions,” Cassidy said on CNN’s New Day program.
“States like Maine, Virginia, Florida, Missouri — there will be billions of more dollars to provide health insurance coverage for those in those states who have been passed by by Obamacare, and we protect those with pre-existing conditions,” Cassidy said.
When challenged that the GOP replacement of Obamacare would treat people with pre-existing conditions differently than how they were treated under the failed nationalized healthcare system, Cassidy stood firm.
“The protection is absolutely the same,” Cassidy said. “There’s a specific provision that says that if a state applies for a waiver, it must ensure that those with pre-existing conditions have affordable and adequate coverage.”
The Graham-Cassidy legislation would return authority over health insurance plans to the states through a federal block grants program and allow states a way to avoid some of the regulations put in place through Obamacare.