Issue: The Senate leadership now believes they have the votes and a narrow window to repeal the ACA and drastically cut/change Medicaid. This damaging legislation termed “Graham-Cassidy” has earned significant public exposure and possibly the momentum to secure the necessary 51 votes in the Senate under a special budget reconciliation process that expires on September 30th. With your help, we can stop this.
Action: Contact Senator Graham and Scott and express your opposition to the
Graham-Cassidy Bill. Graham is one of the primary sponsors. Let him know his constituents are against this legislation.
Senator Graham Contact Info:
Email (website): https://www.lgraham.senate.gov
DC Phone: (202) 224-5972
DC Fax: (202) 224-3808
Lowcountry Phone: (843) 849-3887
Lowcountry Fax: (843) 971-3669
Senator Scott Contact Info:
email (website): https://www.scott.senate.gov
DC Phone: (202) 224-6121, Toll Free: (855) 425-6324
DC Fax: (202) 228-5143
Lowcountry Phone: (843) 727-4525
Lowcountry Fax: (855) 802-9355
Talking Points:
- As your constituent, I oppose the Graham-Cassidy bill that threatens Medicaid funding.
- Medicaid is an incredibly important lifeline for the most vulnerable members of our communities.
- This bill, which proposes to convert Medicaid to a per capita cap/block grant, will reduce available funds forcing the state to make harsh choices and limiting its ability to deal with health crises, including natural disasters and epidemics.
- Advancing this bill forward in less than two weeks, without independent analysis and understanding of its effects across the nation and on each state, is unacceptable.
- Before voting on this bill, we need to understand the legislation’s ramifications for millions of people in our state.
- Congress should work instead in a bipartisan, thoughtful, and open process towards reform that maintains coverage and does not threaten the federal commitment to Medicaid.
Background:
The Graham-Cassidy Plan will:
- Radically restructure federal Medicaid financing by converting Medicaid to a block grant/per capita cap model, imposing deep cuts to the program;
- Cause millions of people to lose coverage by eliminating the ACA’s federal subsidies to purchase individual market coverage and by underfunding and then phasing out state Medicaid expansions by 2026 and
- Allow states to weaken or eliminate protections for those with pre-existing conditions.
Time is of the Essence: The FY 2017 budget reconciliation bill allows Senate Republicans to pass an ACA repeal bill with only 51 votes, but this vehicle expires at the end of this month. Senate leadership, therefore, only has until September 30th to pass the bill. Recent reports suggest they are close.
Projected Consequences of the Graham-Cassidy Plan: The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has not yet released its analysis of the bill (and will likely not be able to do so before a vote is taken), but predictions are for dramatic cuts to Medicaid and millions more uninsured, very similar to the AHCA and the BCRA. The last estimate on the now defeated BCRA projected at least a 26% cut by 2026 and a 35% cut over a twenty-year period, as well as a significant rise in the number of uninsured
Sea Islands Action Network 