There is a remarkable consensus against the Graham-Cassidy health bill. Groups and interests that usually disagree are united in opposition. From America's Health Insurance Plans:
The following statement was jointly released on September 23, 2017 by the American Medical Association, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Hospital Association, Federation of American Hospitals, America’s Health Insurance Plans, and the BlueCross BlueShield Association regarding the Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson legislation.
We represent the nation’s doctors, hospitals, and health plans. Collectively, our organizations include hundreds of thousands individual physicians, thousands of hospitals, and hundreds of health plans that serve tens of millions of American patients, consumers, and employers every day across the United States.
While we sometimes disagree on important issues in health care, we are in total agreement that Americans deserve a stable healthcare market that provides access to high-quality care and affordable coverage for all. The Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson bill does not move us closer to that goal. The Senate should reject it.
We agree that the bill will cause patients and consumers to lose important protections, as
well as undermine safeguards for those with pre-existing conditions. Without these
guaranteed protections, people with significant medical conditions can be charged much
higher premiums and some may not be able to buy coverage at all.
We agree that the bill will result in dramatic cuts to Medicaid and a funding cliff in the
future, fundamentally changing the way that states provide coverage for some of our most vulnerable citizens. This means that millions of patients will lose their coverage and go without much-needed care.
We agree that the individual insurance market will be drastically weakened, making
coverage more expensive and jeopardizing Americans’ choice of health plans. By not
providing all states with sufficient funds to support working families who need help buying coverage, millions will go without it.
We agree that the bill’s current implementation timelines are not workable. State and
industry leaders will need to completely transform their individual insurance markets and
Medicaid programs in little more than a year – an impossible task.
Health care is too important to get wrong. Let’s take the time to get it right. Let’s agree toAt The Washington Post, Christopher Ingraham provides a partial list of groups against the bill:
find real, bipartisan solutions that make health care work for every American.
- Adult Congenital Heart Association
- ALS Association
- Alzheimer's Association
- Alzheimer's Impact Movement
- American Cancer Society
- American College of Emergency Physicians
- American College of Physicians
- American College of Preventive Medicine
- American Diabetes Association
- American Academy of Family Physicians
- American Academy of Pediatrics
- American Cancer Society
- American College of Emergency Physicians
- American College of Physicians
- American College of Preventive Medicine
- American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
- American Diabetes Association
- America's Essential Hospitals
- American Foundation for the Blind
- American Health Care Association
- America's Health Insurance Plans
- American Heart Association
- American Hospital Association
- American Liver Foundation
- American Lung Association
- American Medical Association
- American Nurses Association
- American Osteopathic Association
- American Occupational Therapy Association
- American Psychiatric Association
- American Psychological Association
- American Public Health Association
- American Society for Addiction Medicine
- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
- Amputee Coalition
- The Arc
- Arthritis Foundation
- Association for Community Affiliated Plans
- Association of American Medical Colleges
- Association of University Centers on Disabilities
- Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America
- Autism Society
- Autism Speaks
- Autistic Self Advocacy Network
- Big Cities Health Coalition
- Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
- Catholic Health Association
- Children's Hospital Association
- Center for Medicare Advocacy
- Coalition to Stop Opioid Overdose
- Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities
- COPD Foundation
- Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
- Family Voices
- Federation of American Hospitals
- HIV Medicine Association
- Infectious Diseases Society of America
- JDRF
- Lutheran Services in America
- Kaiser Permanente
- March of Dimes
- Medicare Rights Center
- National Association of Medicaid Directors
- National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
- National Association of School Nurses
- National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship
- National Down Syndrome Congress
- National Health Council
- National Institute for Reproductive Health
- National Kidney Foundation
- National Multiple Sclerosis Society
- National Organization for Rare Diseases
- Planned Parenthood
- Public Health Institute
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
- Trust for America's Health
- WomenHeart