CBO Score Accentuates Harmful Impact of AHCA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 24, 2017
Contact: Christie Petrone, 646-520-3504, [email protected]

Statement from National Institute for Reproductive Health (NIRH)
President Andrea Miller on today’s CBO Score:

“Today’s Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) confirms what we already knew: the so-called American Health Care Act (AHCA) is a cruel attack on the health and well-being of millions of women and families. Twenty-three million Americans would lose coverage under this sorry excuse for a replacement of the Affordable Care Act. Calling the AHCA a “health care” bill is an oxymoron – it would drastically impede access to health care for the people who need it most.

“The AHCA would disproportionately harm low-income communities and communities of color. Women, in particular, would experience the devastating impact of abortion coverage restrictions, defunding of Planned Parenthood, and cuts to Medicaid services like cancer prevention and treatment, family planning, and maternity care. Additionally, the bill would leave the decision to cover “essential health benefits” to the states, potentially allowing insurers to drop coverage for services like pregnancy, maternity, and newborn care.

“The National Institute for Reproductive Health (NIRH) strongly urges the Senate to protect access to health care for the 23 million Americans who would lose coverage under AHCA and the millions of others who depend on the Affordable Care Act to afford the coverage and services they need. Adoption of the AHCA would have a severe impact on women’s health care and their families’ economic stability.

“The National Institute for Reproductive Health will continue to pro-actively arm states across the country with the tools they need to pass legislation that safeguards access to abortion and contraception, regardless of what happens at the federal level.”

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The National Institute for Reproductive Health (NIRH) builds power at the state and local levels to change public policy, galvanize public support, and normalize women’s decisions about abortion and contraception.