***For Immediate Release***
May 4, 2017
Contact, Jeff Sheldon
Nebraska Appleseed Communications Director
Office: (402) 438-8853
Mobile: (402) 840-7289
Email: jsheldon@neappleseed.org
Nebraska Appleseed Statement on American Health Care Act
House vote endangers health insurance for millions of Americans
LINCOLN — Today the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass the American Health Care Act (AHCA) despite it being projected to cause at least 24 million Americans to lose health insurance, remove protections for people preexisting conditions, and drastically cut Medicaid.
Nebraska Appleseed Health Care Director James Goddard issued the following statement on the vote:
“Today, the House of Representatives voted to cause potentially tens of thousands of Nebraskans to lose life-saving health insurance,” Goddard said. “The AHCA will cause premiums to spike, and the most recent changes eliminated important protections that guarantee people with preexisting conditions could be covered. The bill’s cuts to Medicaid would be devastating for the 1 in 8 Nebraskans – mostly children, seniors, and people with disabilities – who rely on the program for health coverage.
“The AHCA is a giant leap backwards in every measure of health coverage for most Nebraskans. We strongly urge Nebraska’s U.S. Senators to put a stop to this irresponsible bill and work to improve access, affordability and quality of health insurance because the AHCA does nothing but harm to each of those factors.”
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