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Questions Rauner Needs to Answer on Health Care Debate

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For the Fourth Time, Illinois’ Senators Ask Rauner to Weigh in on Trumpcare While Their Colleagues Debate

Yesterday, the Senate Republicans announced that they would wait until after the 4th of July weekend to continue working on their version of Trumpcare, giving public leaders and advocates time to continue lobbying their Senators on changes they would like to see.

While Governor Rauner has remained silent on the bill, other Republican governors are weighing in forcefully. That does not mean Rauner does not still have a chance; Yesterday, Illinois’ Senators, for the fourth time, invited Governor Rauner to articulate his position.

Here is a short-list of what Governor Rauner needs to address:

  • The House Trumpcare cuts to Medicaid would leave a $40 billion budget hole in Illinois’ non-existent budget. The Senate’s bill has similar and long-term deeper cuts to Medicaid. Does Governor Rauner have a plan to make up that revenue?
  • The Senate Trumpcare bill allows Governors to apply for waivers that drop the requirement insurers offer Essential Health Benefits, like maternity care or mental health treatment, or protect people with pre-existing conditions. Does Governor Rauner think Governors should have this power, and does he plan on issuing waivers himself?
  • The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that premiums for an average “silver” plan would skyrocket 57% in Illinois. Is Governor Rauner okay with that?
  • Finally, the Center for American Progress reports that 654,800 people would lose their health insurance under the Senate Trumpcare bill. Does Governor Rauner have any plan or any words for those expected to lose their insurance?

When millions of lives will be impacted by such drastic change at the federal level, these are questions every Governor should answer.

“Governing requires answering tough questions or taking stands, but Governor Rauner has chosen the head-in-the-sand approach for dealing with Trumpcare,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “Other Republican governors acknowledged the threat Trumpcare poses to their states and spoke out, but Bruce Rauner would rather put his political expediency ahead of the concerns of the public. Every day Rauner stays silent, the Senate works towards passage of Trumpcare and the results will be dire for Illinois’s middle-class families – skyrocketing premiums, protections for pre-existing conditions stripped away, and an enormous hole in the state budget.”

 

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