policy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  September 26, 2017                                      

FOR MORE INFORMATION:  Jeff Van Ness, (202) 204-7515

STATEMENT OF ACAP CEO MARGARET A. MURRAY AFTER
CASSIDY-GRAHAM AMENDMENT

WASHINGTON—Margaret A. Murray, CEO of the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP), made the following statement on the bill authored by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Dean Heller (R-Nev.), and Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) which would have converted public funding of the Medicaid expansion and Marketplace programs to a block grant and allowed states to opt out of many consumer protections established by the Affordable Care Act:

“We’re relieved that the Senate has turned away from an inherently flawed bill.

“As Senator Graham noted today, the complexities of health care demand a thoughtful, deliberative process. We’ve seen the glimmers such an approach in two places in the Senate: the HELP Committee’s work to stabilize Marketplaces, as well as bipartisan progress around the must-pass funding extension for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), for which no new allotments exist after the end of the month.

“These efforts, to date, have been crowded out by the Graham-Cassidy process. There is a better way to improve health care than a partisan approach that uses budget reconciliation, and it’s right in front of us. We urge the Senate in the strongest possible terms to turn away from partisan politics and instead build on the promising work around CHIP and the HELP committee.”

About ACAP
ACAP represents 61 nonprofit Safety Net Health Plans in 29 states, which collectively serve more nearly twenty million people enrolled in Medicaid, Medicare, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and other public health programs. For more information, visit www.communityplans.net.

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