Adriano Espaillat: “I include in the Record a letter from AFSCME which states this bill would cause millions to lose their health coverage…”

“I include in the Record a letter from AFSCME which states this bill would cause millions to lose their health coverage and return to the days when even inadequate coverage was unaffordable. AFSCME, May 3, 2017. House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Representative: On behalf of the 1.6 million working and retiree members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), I am writing to express our continuing opposition to the American Health Care Act (AHCA), notwithstanding the addition of the Upton amendment. The harm that AHCA will impose on ordinary Americans is breathtaking in scope. As the Congressional Budget Office has detailed, 24 million will lose their health care coverage. The Medicaid program will be cut by $839 billion and restructured, ending the guarantee that the federal government will fund a specified share of state Medicaid costs. The bill makes coverage more expensive, especially for lower-income families and older workers and it undermines the financial strength of Medicare. And the MacArthur amendment makes a very bad bill worse by allowing states to opt out of Affordable Care Act protections that ensure that people with pre-existing conditions will be able to obtain comprehensive, affordable health care.…”