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Statement of ACAP on the American Health Care Act
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 4, 2017
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Jeff Van Ness, (202) 204-7515
STATEMENT OF ACAP ON THE AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT
WASHINGTON—Margaret A. Murray, CEO of the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP), made the following statement on the amended to the American Health Care Act:
“The American Health Care Act is a bill that, if enacted, would cause considerable damage to our health care system.
“This bill cuts Medicaid by four-fifths of a trillion dollars and phases out the enhanced Federal funding match for the Medicaid expansion. It will severely limit access to services for the more than 70 million people who rely on Medicaid for effective health coverage – and locks states’ funding to what they spent on Medicaid in 2016. If history is any guide, at some point states will be faced with a choice between denying care to people who need it, or blowing a hole in their budget.
“ACAP remains willing to engage in productive, bipartisan conversations around reforming the health care system. Should this bill move to the Senate, we encourage Senators to start the debate around health reform where it should begin: with a clean sheet of paper.”
About ACAP
ACAP represents 60 nonprofit Safety Net Health Plans in 29 states, which collectively serve more nearly seventeen 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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