From the Abigail Spanberger for Congress campaign:
Abigail Spanberger Response to Congressman Brat’s Misleading Claim of Supporting Protections for those with Pre-Existing Conditions
“There is absolutely no question that the AHCA gutted protections for those with preexisting conditions, and Congressman Brat’s continued aversion to the truth and refusal to own up to the consequences of his votes is an insult to his constituents, especially those with preexisting conditions who would have faced increased health care costs and in many cases been unable to afford coverage.
As numerous studies and articles have shown, the American Health Care Act (AHCA), which the Congressman voted for on May 4, 2017, would have hurt Americans by gutting protections that have prohibited insurers from charging those with pre-existing conditions more.
In addition, since 2014, Congressman Brat has voted nine times to completely repeal the law that provides coverage and financial protections for those with pre-existing conditions.
Our district deserves better than Congressman Brat, who chooses to put the interests of his corporate insurance industry donors over the wellbeing of his constituents, and then tries to hide it.”
Fact Checks and Independent Sources confirm how the AHCA would gut protections:
“GOP bill would allow insurers to charge more for pre-existing conditions”
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“the latest [AHCA] proposal seems to weaken existing protections for people with pre-existing conditions, not strengthen them.”
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“That means if the AHCA passes, it would allow for people with pre-existing conditions to be charged more per year for their insurance coverage – possibly to the tune of thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars more per year, some studies have found.”
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“Despite Ryan’s tweet that people with preexisting conditions are protected, there is no guarantee that they will not face higher costs than under current law.”
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“The analysis undermines not only the claims made by GOP leaders, but also shows that their bill could, by undoing what is perhaps the Affordable Care Act’s single most popular provision, throw consumers back into insurance markets where their ability to purchase affordable insurance would depend on their health.”
“Over time, it would become more difficult for less healthy people (including people with preexisting medical conditions) in those states to purchase insurance because their premiums would continue to increase rapidly.”
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“‘Protected’ is an odd word choice here. As we have noted, people with preexisting conditions would not be denied coverage. But if they have a gap in coverage, they still could face higher, unaffordable premiums for a year.”
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