Washington, D.C.—The U.S. Senate is reported to be considering a “skinny” health care repeal bill that according to earlier Congressional Budget Office estimates of similar repeal could cause 15 million Americans to lose their insurance coverage over the next ten years.
A statement from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) follows:
“The continuing effort by Senate leaders to figure out by trial and error some bill that might gain the needed 50 votes to pass is a threat to millions of Americans including cancer patients and survivors who must have comprehensive coverage in order to access prevention and medical treatment.
“Critical patient protections in the current health care law that ended discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions, eliminated annual and lifetime benefit limits, and guaranteed minimum essential coverage will not be sustainable if the provisions reported to be in the “skinny” repeal bill are enacted into law. The legislation could cause the individual insurance market to collapse putting millions of American families at financial risk.
“Having access to adequate, affordable health insurance is essential to our nation’s ability to continue reducing death and suffering from cancer. Senate leaders in charge of this process need to consider the impact of their actions on the nation. Once again, we urge both parties to put aside their differences to work on a health care bill that helps people instead of hurting them.”