Response to Rep. Fleischmann’s Defiance of Tennessee Voters

Alliance for Healthcare Security Statement On Rep. Fleischmann’s Defiance of Tennessee Voters

In Today’s Vote Rep Chuck Fleischmann Rejects the Will of Tennessee Voters And Begins Process to Repeal Ban on Insurance Companies Denying Coverage, Senior Prescription Drug Discounts and More

CITY,  TN — U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann (R) chose today to reject the will and the needs of Tennesseans by voting to repeal the Affordable Care Act without a replacement, said Kelley Elliott, speaking on behalf of the Alliance for Healthcare Security.

“Today Rep. Fleischmann joined Senator Alexander in lighting the fuse to blow up the health care system without a plan to protect high-quality, affordable care for all Americans,” Elliott said.  “Voters should be especially concerned by Republicans’ votes to tear up Medicare, Medicaid coverage for working families, children’s health, women’s health, health care for rural communities, and vital protections for Americans with chronic conditions. It’s not too late for Republicans to abandon their unpopular partisan attack on care for tens of millions of Americans.”

Local ACA clients also reacted to today’s House of Representatives vote, which followed a similar one by the U.S. Senate early Thursday morning.

In a statement to the media, cancer survivor and nurse, April Cook of Lookout Mountain, TN said:

“Several years ago I had a scare with cancer and every two years I needed a $7,000 diagnostic test among other things. It’s because the Affordable Care Act I didn’t go bankrupt. Before the ACA companies could put lifetime and yearly caps on benefits, limiting and denying coverage and throwing people into bankruptcy. Rep Fleischmann and Senator Alexander’s decision to repeal the Affordable Care Act without replacing it first rips away protections like these and makes it harder to afford treatment for cancer and other illnesses.

Senator Alexander, Congressman Fleischmann: Tennesseans have said we don’t want you to do this, why aren’t you listening?”

A poll commissioned by The Alliance For Healthcare Security on January 5-6 show more than 67 percent of Tennesseans oppose repeal of the Affordable Care Act without a replacement plan that provides many of the same benefits the ACA has – in spite of the hasty and poorly-thought out action taken by Republicans to dismantle the ACA. A link to the poll results is here: http://bit.ly/TN-ACA-Poll

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The Alliance for Healthcare Security is a national coalition of nurses, caregivers, patients and healthcare advocates that works to educate consumers on the importance of the Affordable Care Act.

WHAT’S AT STAKE FOR TENNESSEANS?

  • 526,000 Tennesseans would lose health coverage, a 79 percent increase in the number of uninsured. [Urban Institute]

  • 1.265 million Tennesseans under the age of 65 living with pre-existing conditions could be denied health insurance if provisions of the Affordable Care Act are repealed. That’s 32 percent of Tennessee’s non-elderly population. [Kaiser Family Foundation]

  • Tennesseans would lose $10.777 billion in federal financial assistance through the insurance marketplaces from 2019-2028, leading to a dramatic spike in the number of uninsured. [Urban Institute]

  • 203,112 Tennesseans would lose an average monthly advanced premium tax credit of $299 which currently helps them pay for insurance. [Kaiser Family Foundation]

  • Tennessee would lose $15.9 billion in federal Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funding, currently providing lifelines to 1,624,284 Tennesseans. [Urban Institute, Kaiser Family Foundation]

About the Alliance for Healthcare Security