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AAP News E-alerts: Graham Cassidy
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Breaking News • September 21, 2017 • www.aapnews.org
 

AAP taking action to oppose Graham-Cassidy health care proposal

by Melissa Jenco • News Content Editor

Proposed changes to the nation’s health care system would jeopardize the care of millions of children and families, Academy leaders say.

The legislation, crafted by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.), has prompted swift and impassioned action from AAP leaders and members alike in advance of a vote expected next week. AAP President Fernando Stein, M.D., FAAP, released a statement calling the proposal a “dangerous, ill-conceived policy.”

“Throughout this debate, pediatricians have spoken up for and advocated alongside children whose health hangs in the balance of the harmful policies of this proposal and the bills that came before it,” Dr. Stein said. “These are real families with real stories whose lives will be turned upside down if these policies advance.”

About 95% of U.S. children have health care coverage, and nearly 37 million of them rely on Medicaid. Under the Graham-Cassidy proposal, the program would be turned into a block grant and its funding would be capped.

“Medicaid is a lifeline for children from low-income families and with special health care needs, and this proposal would leave them with nowhere to turn,” Dr. Stein said.

Under the proposal, patients in some states could face lifetime limits on coverage or may not be able to access coverage if they have pre-existing conditions. The plan also eliminates subsidies that made insurance more affordable for nearly 9 million people.

The Academy and five other medical groups representing over 560,000 physicians, recently sent a letter to Senate leaders saying “the revised proposal may actually be worse than the original.”

 

“The proposal fails to protect the health care coverage and consumer protections available under current law,” the groups wrote. “Additionally, it would create a health care system built on state-by-state variability that would exacerbate inequities in coverage and most likely place millions of vulnerable individuals at risk of losing their health care coverage.”

 

Next week, representatives of those six groups are traveling to Washington, D.C., to discuss these concerns with senators and urge bipartisan solutions. If senators approve the current proposal, it would move to the House of Representatives, which likely would vote in favor.

 

Pediatricians have been adding their voices by posting videos on social media explaining to lawmakers and the public the importance of making sure all children are covered. Health care proposals earlier this year spurred 110 videos from 33 states, and more are being posted this week in response to the Graham-Cassidy plan.

 

Deanna Behrens, M.D., FAAP, a pediatric critical care physician in Chicago, said in a video that under the proposal, one visit to the intensive care unit could take up a child’s lifetime limit on coverage. In another video, Iowa pediatrician Amy Shriver, M.D., FAAP, said children could be prevented from accessing a broad range of necessary services.

 

“Children without health care coverage are vulnerable,” Dr. Shriver said. “They’re less likely to get anticipatory guidance about water safety, oral health care and nutrition. They’re less likely to be vaccinated and less likely to seek care for illness or injury. They’re less likely to get management for chronic health conditions such as asthma or obesity and they’re at an almost 25% increased risk for early death.”

 

Pediatricians can take action by calling or visiting their senators. In addition to opposing the Graham-Cassidy legislation, the Academy is advocating for extensions of the Children’s Health Insurance Program and the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program, which are set to expire on Sept. 30.

 

"Pediatricians will continue to focus on the children we care for as this process unfolds,” Dr. Stein said, “and we will not stop speaking up on their behalf until we see legislation that puts them first.”

 

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