WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Tom Udall released the following statement after Senate Republicans announced that they intend to vote on the dangerous, last-ditch Graham-Cassidy TrumpCare bill next week:
“Senate Republicans are barreling forward with the cruelest and most devastating version of TrumpCare yet. This disastrous bill would strip health care from hundreds of thousands of New Mexicans and tens of millions of Americans by eviscerating Medicaid and causing premiums to soar. Graham-Cassidy, which is even more radical than previous versions of TrumpCare, would punish people for being sick and take away protections from people with pre-existing conditions. This is a blatantly political attack on our health care system that will cause real hurt and suffering for people all across New Mexico and the United States, taking millions of families back to the days when they were one serious illness away from financial ruin. The chorus against Graham-Cassidy is loud and clear, from doctors, patient groups, seniors, and even Republican governors.
“This bill would have a devastating impact on the Medicaid program and the 900,000 people in our state who depend on it. Graham-Cassidy would slash federal health care funding for New Mexico by a staggering $5 billion by 2026—and the cuts only get worse after that, with New Mexico losing an estimated $60 billion over a 16-year period. These cuts would almost certainly force hospitals and clinics to close and leave families across our state with few options for care when they face an illness or need to see a doctor. The Graham-Cassidy TrumpCare bill brings us back to a time when the big insurance companies were allowed to charge New Mexicans more for being sick—as much as $17,320 for pregnancy, $5,600 for diabetes, and over $142,650 for certain forms of cancer. On the individual marketplace, over 33,000 New Mexicans would lose an average of $3,400 a year in support they receive to help buy insurance.
“What Senate Republicans are doing is truly unprecedented: trying to force through a bill to completely upend our health care system and one sixth of our economy without regular order, without debate, and without a real analysis from the Congressional Budget Office. Senate Republicans even decided to kill productive, bipartisan efforts to improve health care in order to jam through this partisan TrumpCare bill, which will dismantle all the progress we have made under the Affordable Care Act.
"President Trump and the Republicans are hoping that the American people aren't paying attention. I urge New Mexicans and Americans to show us all that they’re still watchingand that they'll never stop fighting to protect their care.”
As Trump and Washington Republicans have repeatedly attempted to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, Udall has shared the stories of New Mexicans who have benefited from the law's historic protections.
