Some Connecticut residents are speaking out against the Republican health care bill that was recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and is now before the U.S. Senate.
Last week the Congressional Budget Office released a report projecting that the GOP’s American Health Care Act would result in 23 million fewer people insured by 2026 than under the current healthcare law.
April Capone, a former Democratic mayor of East Haven, donated one of her kidneys to a constituent in 2010. She says she’s concerned that the GOP’s plan would reduce the available pool of healthy organ donors.
“Many transplant centers require potential donors to have medical insurance. Removing 23 million people, or really anyone, shrinks the potential pool of donors who can provide this life-changing and in many cases life-saving treatment.”
Pamela Johnson, an Ellington resident, and her 5-year-old son have a rare genetic condition called hereditary angioedema, a disease that causes recurring life-threatening episodes of swelling all over the body. Johnson says she’s concerned the AHCA would allow insurers to drop people with pre-existing conditions.
“If protections against pre-existing condition discrimination, lifetime caps and affordable insurance are not preserved, I fear I could face certain medical bankruptcy. Or worse not being able to access life-sustaining care for myself and my son.”
The women were speaking at the state Legislative Office Building in Hartford a few days ago. They were there with Connecticut’s two U.S. senators, Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, both Democrats opposed to the GOP efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare. The senators say they don’t expect their Republican colleagues will write a bill that is radically different from what was passed in the U.S. House.
