Acerbic Politics

June 15, 2017

PUSH IT TO THE LIMIT

As the Senate rushes to push through its version of Trumpcare, almost every day brings new details about its secretive health care bill. And each new revelation is worse than the last. One of the latest details to emerge is that the Senate bill may allow states to waive coverage of essential health benefits (things like maternity care or prescription drug coverage) for small employer and individual plans.

These waivers would not only be devastating for the individual market in waiver states, but they would also impact millions of people who get health insurance through an employer, according to a new CAP report. These waivers would mean the return of annual and lifetime benefit limits in any state—not just those that waive coverage for essential benefits.

And the impact would be huge: CAP estimates that the Senate’s Trumpcare bill would erode or eliminate financial protections for 27 million people with employer coverage. And that’s on top of the millions of people likely to lose their health care altogether. For too long, many American families—even those with health insurance—were just one illness away from bankruptcy. We cannot let the Senate bring that back.

Find out how many people in your state with employer coverage would be affected here. Then listen to this week’s episode of ThinkingCAP to hear Neera Tanden break down the Senate’s Trumcpare bill.