Carper, Coons criticize Republican health care bill update

Delaware's U.S. senators described Senate Republicans' update to the health care proposal as “Robin Hood in reverse” and a “huge step backward” because it would still hurt the 225,000 Delawareans who depend on Medicaid. 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell released a new proposal Thursday to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. It comes as an update to the health care bill that was proposed three weeks ago that received massive criticism from both Democrats and Republicans.

Delaware Democratic Sens. Tom Carper and Chris Coons criticized the legislation Thursday night, particularly the amendment proposed by Sen. Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican. The proposal would allow insurance companies to sell plans that don't follow all of Obamacare's market rules.

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Reports have shown this could prevent insurance companies from selling plans to people with health problems, resulting in insurance becoming more expensive for those with pre-existing conditions. 

Carper likened the update to the opposite of "Robin Hood," where access to health care would be cut off to those who need it in order to "fund hundreds of billions of dollars in tax credits for those who need them the least," he said in a statement. 
 
"In fact, it would put the individual market into a death spiral and force people in this country to pay more for poorer coverage," he said. "Make no mistake – this has gotten worse, not better." 

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Coons said Cruz's plan would allow insurers to offer "junk health insurance plans." He compared the idea to allowing car companies to sell vehicles without airbags, bumpers or emergency brakes. 

"It might make the cars cheaper, but the cars are too dangerous to drive," he said in a statement. "This misguided amendment will cause risk pools to deteriorate and insurers across the country have already expressed their strong opposition." 

Both senators called on Republicans to not support the current bill and work with Democrats to fix the problems with the Affordable Care Act.

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Under the bill, 2018 premiums could increase by $1,365 in Delaware, said Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., in a statement Friday. Up to 86,000 Delawareans with employer-sponsored coverage could lose protections for annual or lifetime limits. 

"At this point, we are seeing a bad bill get worse," her statement said.

When the Senate Republican health care bill was first introduced in June, virtually none of Delaware's health providers surveyed by The News Journal were in favor of the bill. 

As it was written at the time, the Senate bill would cut $2 billion from Delaware's Medicaid budget. It would also drastically increase premiums for many and cut preventative care and addiction services. 

Contact Meredith Newman at (302) 324-2386 or at mnewman@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @merenewman.