Congresswoman Trahan: Putting Politics Ahead Of Our Health Care Future By Supporting H.R. 1384
Congresswoman Lori Trahan (D–Massachusetts 3rd) campaigned on her commitment to stand by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and strengthen our existing health care system for her constituents. But now, she is turning her back and supporting a Medicare for all proposal (H.R. 1384) that would destroy the health care system we have today.
In fact, at a Congressional forum on health care in October 2018, she stood with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, other Members of Congress and local leaders to reinforce the importance of strengthening the ACA and building a stronger health care future for her constituents:
“We need more leaders in Washington who will fight to preserve and strengthen the ACA, make coverage more affordable, and ensure access to care for those with preexisting conditions.”
On her campaign website, she doubled down on this message, noting that it would be her priority to:
“Defend and expand the Affordable Care Act, which helps cover over 20 million Americans” and “[t]he battle to pass the Affordable Care Act was hard-fought. I’m committed to improving and strengthening the ACA first and foremost…”
But now that she’s in Washington, she’s changed her tune – putting politics before the patients in her district by co-sponsoring H.R. 1384, Rep. Jayapal’s Medicare for all legislation that would not only destroy our existing health care system – one that is working well of millions of Americans – but also replace the Affordable Care Act with a one-size-fits-all, bureaucratic government program that will cost an estimated $32 trillion.
And while so-called “buy-in” and public options have been suggested by some as a “more moderate” approach than Medicare for all, there is growing acknowledgement that such Medicare for all-style plans represent “stepping stones to single payer,” as The Wall Street Journal recently reported. In fact, a U.S. Senator who supports buy-in recently admitted it would bring about the “death” of employer-provided and other private coverage and serve as an “on ramp to a single-payer system.”
Two separate studies released in recent weeks show that buy-in and public option proposals would have a harmful effect on hospitals and patients.
- A study released last week by Navigant looked at various Medicare for all-style proposals, including buy-in, and found they could force hospitals to limit the care they provide, drive significant “layoffs” and “potentially force the closure of essential hospitals.”
- A separate study by KNG Health Consulting released recently found that in Massachusetts alone, hospitals would face a $10.5 billion cut over ten years under a buy-in proposal. It says: “For hospitals, the introduction of a public plan that reimburses providers using Medicare rates would compound financial stresses they are already facing, potentially impacting access to care and provider quality. CBO projects that between 40 and 50 percent of hospitals could have negative margins by 2025 under current law,” and a buy-in plan “would be expected to increase the number of hospitals with negative margins.”
Those findings serve as a powerful reminder that a Medicare for all-style proposal – whether it is called Medicare for all, Medicare buy-in, single-payer or a public option – would ultimately eliminate the Affordable Care Act in favor of a one-size-fits-all government-run system, harming patients in the process.
Tell Representative Lori Trahan that her constituents are counting on her to keep her promises, putting patients BEFORE politics, and standing up for our health care future.