Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) released the following statement on the Graham-Cassidy bill currently being discussed by Senate Republicans.
“The latest Republican proposal to repeal the Affordable Care Act would take our state backwards. We cannot roll back the hard fought coverage gains Governor Sandoval’s Medicaid expansion brought to our state. Republicans in the Senate must return to an open and bipartisan process where we focus on stabilizing the marketplaces, reducing premiums, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, and supporting rural hospitals and community health centers. The latest ill-conceived Republican effort would end Medicaid as we know it, while taking away $639 million from Nevadans over a decade and eliminating or weakening protections for people with pre-existing conditions. This means less care and higher costs for families, seniors, and rural hospitals in our state. I have said from the start that I am willing to work with my Republican colleagues to fix the problems of the Affordable Care Act, lower premiums and deductibles, and bring greater access and options to rural Nevada. Graham-Cassidy does none of these things and threatens Nevada. I will not stand for it.”
For further information on the proposed Republican legislation’s impact on Nevada, please find the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities study here.
In June, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) to introduce legislation that would stabilize the health care market. Their bill, the Marketplace Certainty Act, would prevent costs from spiraling out of control so that providers are not forced to leave markets by permanently appropriating Cost Sharing Reductions and making them available to more Americans.