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Congresswoman DeGette and Colorado Democratic Party Chair Pat Waak Decry McCain's Failed Health Care |
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DENVER - Congresswoman Diana DeGette and Colorado Democratic Party
Chair Pat Waak expressed disappointment today over John McCain's
promise to deliver a third Bush term of failed health care policies
during his visit to the state.
McCain's stop in Denver, part of a tour focused on his health care
plan, comes at the same time the U.S. Senate prepares to consider a
bill that would halt Bush Administration regulations that will cut as
much as $800 million from Colorado hospitals over the next five years.
Colorado's Republican members of the House of Representatives voted
against the bill last week, and President Bush has threatened to veto
it, even though the head of Denver Health described the potentially
devastating impact of the Bush Administration cuts as being like
"'Colorado's own little Katrina,'...severely reducing health care
services for the poor and underserved." [Rocky Mountain News, 4/23/08;
Denver Post, 4/24/08; CQ, 4/25/08]
The timing seems fitting, though, since some of McCain's proposals
would actually make it more difficult for families to get the health
care they need and reduce the quality of care. McCain's plan would
barely address reducing the number of uninsured, who number almost
800,000 in Colorado including more than 175,000 children. Furthermore,
McCain's plan would eliminate protections for patients through state
mandates that require insurance to cover emergency room care, allow
women direct access to OB/GYN, and other important services. Adding
insult to injury, McCain's plan could lead to loss of coverage,
particularly for Coloradans who need it most, including those with
pre-existing conditions and the poor.
"John McCain's health care proposal is feeble at best," said U.S. Rep.
Diana DeGette, Vice Chair of the Committee on Energy and Commerce,
which has jurisdiction over health care policy. "Senator McCain's plan
is simply a tax break that doesn't guarantee coverage and doesn't
ensure that health care is affordable for the working families who need
it most in Colorado. We need a plan that is portable, universal, and
affordable."
"It's disappointing that John McCain would come to Denver to promise
basically four more years of the same failed policies and offer no
commitment to reducing the ranks of the uninsured," added Colorado
Democratic Party Chair Pat Waak. “Colorado’s families need real
leadership that will make quality, affordable health care available to
all Americans. So long as he continues to stand for a third Bush term,
John McCain is making it clear he is the wrong choice for Colorado’s
future."
McCain Offers Little Hope For Uninsured
A Full 798,772 Coloradans Are Uninsured. That's 17 percent of
Coloradans living without any insurance including 175,501 kids.
[statehealthfacts.org, accessed 4/28/08, available here]
Yet McCain's Healthcare Plan Offers Little Hope To Those With No
Insurance. McCain's healthcare "plan isn't expected to make a major
dent in the number of uninsured Americans, and questions remain about
how the plan would help older, sicker people who can't find insurance
on the open market. The approach of the plan "has been estimated to
reduce the number of uninsured in the U.S.by three to nine million."
The latest data indicate that in 2006, there were 47 million uninsured
Americans. [Wall Street Journal, 4/30/2008; Kaiser Family Foundation,
statehealthfacts.org, accessed on 4/17/2008]
And McCain Supported Bush Veto of SCHIP, Which Denied Coverage to
60,000 Colorado Children. "The SCHIP bill would have extended health
insurance to as many as 60,000 Colorado families" who earn too much to
participate in Colorado's CHP+ program, but cannot afford private
insurance. [Rocky Mountain News, 10/13/07]
McCain's Plan Would Decrease Quality of Coverage in the United States
McCain Would Allow People to Buy Insurance Across State Lines, Would
Lead to Race-to-the-Bottom. McCain's proposal to permit people to buy
their health insurance across state lines "would allow health-insurance
companies to escape state regulations they don't like, such as rules
allowing for appeals when companies deny coverage and rules requiring
insurers to cover people with various conditions or to cover particular
types of treatments. The companies would likely gravitate to the states
with the regulations they most favored." [Wall Street Journal,
4/19/2008]
State Mandates That Would Be Overridden Include: Emergency room care,
direct access to OB/GYN, clinical trials, post-mastectomy breast
reconstruction, and other important services. [National Conference of
State Legislatures, accessed 7/30/2007,
http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/hmolaws.htm ; Council for
Affordable Health Insurance, accessed 7/30/2007,
http://www.cahi.org/cahi_contents/resources/pdf/MandatePub2007.pdf ]
McCain Fails to Provide Adequate Coverage to Americans Who Need it Most
McCain's High-Risk Pool Would Not Cover Those Who Need Care The Most.
McCain's proposed "Guaranteed Access Plan," which would "serve people
below a certain income who have expensive health-care needs" is
"unlikely to include everyone who meets resistance in the market."
McCain advisor Douglas Holtz-Eakin even "acknowledged that there will
be people who can't get affordable insurance in the existing
marketplace and also might not qualify for the pools." In addition,
"funding for McCain's trust fund depends on savings produced under
Medicaid," meaning McCain would cut coverage funding for the program
that covers poor Americans. [Wall Street Journal, 4/30/2008;
ABCnews.com, "The Note," 4/28/2008]
McCain's Plan Could Lead To Loss of Coverage, Especially For Americans
With Pre-Existing Conditions. Critics of McCain's plan argue that the
tax incentives would lead "the richest and healthiest employees" to
"opt out of their current coverage, leaving employers covering the
sickest workers - those with preexisting conditions - and likely lead
companies to stop offering coverage." Therefore, "individuals with
pre-existing conditions who no longer have access to coverage through
the workplace would have difficulty finding affordable coverage." Karen
Pollitz, researcher at Georgetown University's Health Policy Institute,
"said those with cancer, diabetes, heart disease, HIV, epilepsy and
other more serious problems are rejected outright 99% of the time."
[Politico.com, 4/29/2008; Wall Street Journal, 4/30/2008]
McCain's GOP Opposes HR 5613, A Bill To Stop Medicaid Cuts That Will
Cost Colorado Hospitals $800 Million, Lead to Severe Reduction in
Health Care for Poor and Underserved. Colorado hospitals could lose
close to $800 million over the next five years in "federal funds that
cover health services for the poor, under Medicaid rules set to take
effect after May 25." [Rocky Mountain News, 3/5/08] The U.S. House
voted overwhelmingly 349-62 on April 23rd to place a moratorium on the
regulations that would force the cuts, and the bill is now on a fast
track in the Senate. But Colorado's Republican members of the House
voted against stopping the cuts and President Bush has threatened to
veto the bill and allow the cuts to go forward. The head of Denver
Health, a Colorado "Safety Net" hospital, said "the looming Medicaid
cuts would be 'Colorado's own little Katrina,'...severely reducing
health care services for the poor and underserved." [Rocky Mountain
News, 4/23/08; Denver Post, 4/24/08]
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