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September 21, 2017
FROM:
Bonnie Cox, LWVIL President
Hilary Denk, Vice President, Issues
Heather Cunningham, Co-chair, Issues Committee
Janet Craft and Margaret O'Hara Issues Specialists
ACTION:
Contact Governor Rauner's office, in Chicago 312- 814-2121 or Springfield 217-782-0244, and say you want him to publicly oppose the proposed Graham-Cassidy bill.
WHY IT MATTERS:
The Graham-Cassidy proposal takes the funding for the Affordable Care Act and turns it into block grants for the states. The Congressional Budget Office has not yet scored the proposed bill. The plan has three main elements.
- A new block grant that would slash federal funding currently slated for Medicaid expansion and financial assistance with marketplace coverage. After making the cuts the block grant ends in 2026 leaving millions without any federal help.
- The underlying Medicaid program would be cut and restructured posing serious cuts to seniors, children with special healthcare needs, and others among the more than 70 million Americans who get health coverage through Medicaid.
- Elimination of consumer safeguards. State waivers would effectively end important national standards for private coverage taking away essential benefits from people with preexisting conditions.
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