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June 16, 2017
Call Your Senators Today
Members of the Senate are working behind
closed doors to draft a bill to repeal and replace the
Affordable Care Act with the American Health Care Act, (sometimes
called Trumpcare) by July 4! Many healthcare and professional
organizations, including AABC, NACPM, ACNM, ACOG and the AMA and
many others have issued position statements and sent letters to
Congress opposing the proposed replacement plan because it would
leave more than 23 million people uninsured and it doesn’t
make good ethical or economic sense for our country.
Changes to health care law would have
consequences for birth centers as well as for the women and
families we serve. Some of the changes, such as allowing
insurance companies to deny coverage based on pre-existing
conditions, and removing the mandates to cover essential health
benefits such as maternity care, will have significant effects on
eligibility and coverage.
Pregnancy a pre-existing
condition?
Many of us remember pre-2010 when women came to the birth center
for prenatal care to learn that their health insurance did not
include maternity! Then when they tried to buy coverage for
pregnancy, they were told their pregnancy was a pre-existing
condition.
Some birth centers are already noticing increased
denials of evidence-based labs and treatments, such as GBS testing,
or advanced maternal age lab testing. Health insurance payers may
already assume they don’t have to pay for services mandated
by the ACA.
Ask them
to Vote NO on the American Health Care
Act
We strongly encourage you to call your 2 Senators
offices today to ask them to vote NO on this secret
healthcare legislation. Ask how your Senator intends to vote
on the bill. (Click here to find
their contact information)
Talking Points
- If healthcare is to be changed, a
thorough discussion and analysis of changes should be done
beforehand. This process should be transparent, and we want to know
what is proposed before it is voted on.
- Healthcare impacts 1/5 of the US
economy and birth centers are part of that economy. Cuts to
Medicaid or removing mandated or essential services will make it
harder for birth centers to provide access to high quality care for
women and families in our communities.
Let us know you made the
calls. Please email Jill Alliman, AABC Government Affairs Committee
Chair
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