The State Innovation Exchange (SiX) will host a discussion on “State Health Care Policy Making: Protecting What We’ve Built and Seizing Opportunities for Progress” at the SiX Legislator Conference in Washington D.C. on Monday Oct. 9, 2017
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, State Innovation Exchange (SiX) Executive Director Nick Rathod released the following statement on the withdrawal of the Graham-Cassidy health care bill, which the Congressional Budget Office estimated would have slashed $1 trillion in federal Medicaid spending over ten years, and stripped health insurance from millions of Americans:
"The American people owe a major thank you to those who stood up and spoke out against the damaging Graham-Cassidy health care repeal plan, including all the everyday, working Americans who contacted their U.S. Senators, showed up at town halls, organized local events, and put their own bodies on the line in order to make their voices heard in opposition to this incredibly harmful attempt to gut the Affordable Care Act.
“Progressive state legislators across the country have fought tooth and nail in 2017 to ensure the Affordable Care Act’s protections remain intact, and in favor of a progressive vision of expanded health coverage for more Americans at a lower cost. Their voices and leadership were vital once again in the fight over the Graham-Cassidy bill, which not only would have stripped health insurance from millions and eliminated basic insurance protections, but devastated state budgets and depleted funding for other priorities, including schools and public safety. Many state budgets are already stretched perilously thin without the specter of losing over $1 trillion in federal Medicaid spending, which would have forced state lawmakers to make impossible choices.
As Colorado House Speaker Crisanta Duran wrote this week, “Graham-Cassidy doesn’t solve any of the problems with our health care system – it just dumps those problems on the states."
The fight for quality, affordable health care isn’t over, and SiX is committed to helping lead the way. SiX will host over 500 progressive state legislators and legislative staff at our fourth annual legislator conference from Sunday, October 8, to Tuesday, October 10, 2017 in Washington, D.C. On Monday, October 9, the conference will feature a panel on “State Health Care Policy Making: Protecting What We’ve Built and Seizing Opportunities for Progress.”