On top of breaking his promise to protect Medicaid, Heller backs plan that will make women, individuals with cancer, asthma, or other illnesses pay more
The latest GOP health plan backed by Senator Dean Heller will gut protections for pre-existing conditions, bringing back an era when Nevada women or individuals with cancer, asthma, and other illnesses paid more for their insurance — breaking his promise to protect these critical services.
Senator Heller has already broken his promise to protect Medicaid, casting the deciding vote in July for the GOP’s toxic health care agenda, and now lending his name to a bill that will slash Medicaid spending in Nevada by $2.7 billion.
From The Washington Post:
“There’s another way Graham-Cassidy goes further than previous Obamacare rollback measures: It would allow states to opt out of the law’s ‘essential health benefits,’ the baseline services that insurers must cover. That means there will no longer be a rock-solid prohibition on charging higher premiums to people with preexisting medical conditions, although states would need federal waivers.”
“Senator Heller’s latest health care proposal will gut coverage for pre-existing conditions — breaking his promise to protect these vital services and spiking costs for hardworking families,” said David Bergstein of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. “If Senator Heller has his way, Nevada’s working families could lose coverage for everything from cancer treatment to pregnancy services, and in 2018 voters will hold him accountable for his toxic and expensive agenda.”
The Kaiser Family Foundation also found the bill would allow insurers to charge older Americans up to 5 times more, and Senator Heller previously voted for the GOP’s health care agenda that would increase premiums by 20 percent and impose an age tax on older Americans.
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