TUCSON – Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) released the following statement today highlighting the damaging impacts that the Republican plan of repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will have on the State of Arizona.
“The Republican effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act will be devastating to people all across the country, and particularly here in Arizona,” Rep. Grijalva said. “It is worth remembering that this all began as a scheme to deny President Obama of a political achievement. The human impact of repeal was never a part of the GOP’s calculus; they’ve been blinded by partisanship from the beginning, and too many Arizonans are about to suffer as a direct result.
“The numbers below should be staggering to everyone, regardless of party politics,” Grijalva continued. “There is no electoral advantage to be gained from making people suffer, and I hope for the sake of every Arizonan and every American, that Republicans realize that before they inflict a wound on our system that can’t be undone.”
Repealing or weakening the Affordable Care Act could reverse historic gains in coverage and access to care, endangering the health and welfare of hundreds of thousands of individuals and their families in Arizona:
· 387,000 individuals in Arizona who grained coverage since the ACA was implemented could lose their coverage.This includes:
· 94,463 individualsin Arizona who received cost-sharing reductions to lower out-of-pocket costs such as deductibles, co-pays, and coinsurance are now at risk of having healthcare become unaffordable if the Republican Congress eliminates cost-sharing reductions.
· 2,726,206 Arizonanswho now have private health insurance that covers preventative services without any co-pays, coinsurance, or deductibles stand to lose this access if the Republican Congress eliminates ACA provisions requiring health insurers to cover important preventative services without cost-sharing.
· Women in Arizona who can now purchase insurance for the same price as menare at risk of being charged more for insurance if the Republican Congress eliminates the ACA’s ban on gender rating in the individuals and small group markets.
· Roughly 1,403,000 individualsin the state who have pre-existing health conditions are at risk of having their coverage rescinded, being denied coverage, or being charged significantly more for coverage if the Republican Congress eliminates the Medicaid expansion.
· Arizona is at risk of losing $2.51 billion in federal Medicaid dollarsif the Republican Congress eliminates the Medicaid expansion.
· 96,954 seniors who have saved an average of $966 eachas a result of closing the Medicare prescription drug “donut hole” gap in coverage stand to lose this critical help going forward.
· 481,230 seniors who have received free preventative care services thanks to ACA provisions requiring coverage of annual wellness visits and eliminating cost-sharing for many recommended preventative services covered by Medicare Part B, such as cancer screenings, are at risk of losing access to these services if Congressional Republicans go forward with their plan to repeal the ACA.
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