Pallone on “Updated” Senate Trumpcare

“Superficial changes do not change the fundamental cruelty of Trumpcare.”

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), the Ranking Member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, released the following statement today after Senate Republicans released an updated draft of the Trumpcare bill:

“Small and superficial changes do not change the fundamental cruelty of Trumpcare, which will still lead to millions of Americans losing health care and higher costs for working families in order to shower corporations and the wealthy with tax breaks. The so-called Cruz Amendment will drive the insurance markets into a death spiral, making health care unaffordable for millions of Americans, including those with pre-existing conditions.

“The updated bill maintains the devastating and heartless cuts to Medicaid, which will force states to ration care for millions of seniors in nursing homes, pregnant women and children. Furthermore, the additional funding for opioids ignores the fact that no one-time amount of funds or carve outs will ever replace the certainty of comprehensive coverage that is at risk with hundreds of billions of dollars being cut from the Medicaid program.

“It is time for Republicans to abandon Trumpcare and to work with Democrats on bipartisan solutions to reduce costs and improve access to health care.”

A recent report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute predicted that the previous version of the Senate Trumpcare bill would cause New Jersey's uninsured rate among non-elderly adults to climb from 8.7 percent to 22.1 percent by 2022.