Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
MEEHAN, COSTELLO VOTE AGAINST PLAN
House OKs move to repeal ‘Obamacare’; local pols cite pre-existing condition fears
Even as the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly approved the American Health Care Act, dismantling major portions of the Affordable Care Act, many expressed concerns with the move – including two local U.S. representatives.
Both U.S. Reps. Patrick Meehan, R-7 of Chadds Ford, and Ryan Costello, R-6 of West Goshen, were among 19 Republicans to oppose the measure.
Meehan said the Republican plan, known as “Trumpcare,” didn’t do enough, especially for aging Americans and for those with pre-existing conditions.
“I’ve been a leader in the fight to repeal and replace
Obamacare,” Meehan said. “I hear from constituents every day who face higher costs for less coverage. There’s no question Obamacare is unsustainable (b)ut this legislation doesn’t keep the promises I made to my constituents when I said I would do it.”
Meehan consistently said he would support legislation that protects coverage for those with pre-existing conditions, but that wasn’t his only concern.
“It threatens people with pre-existing conditions with skyrocketing costs,”
Meehan said. “It threatens essential health care coverage like mental health and opioid addiction treatments. Monthly premiums for many, particularly older Americans nearing retirement, will rise. This bill doesn’t repeal or fix Obamacare – it simply shifts its failures from one group of Americans to another.”
He also was concerned about costs.
“Even after major changes to the legislation, the House is voting today without the benefit of a (Congressional Budget Office) score that will tell us how much it costs or what it may mean for coverage. It’s the product of the same broken process and lastminute
deal-making that gave us Obamacare.”
Meehan said he hopes the Senate to address some of these issues.
Costello, R-6 of West Goshen, also voted against the bill.
“I listened to everybody,” Costello said during a phone interview immediately following the vote. “Ultimately, I had people ask me to vote for it and against it.”
Costello believes health care reform is needed but not the way the bill plays out.
“Essential health benefits and pre-existing conditions protections were my benchmarks,” he said. “I didn’t feel that this legislation
satisfied those benchmarks.”
U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, D-1, of Philadelphia, voted against the bill.
“This afternoon, the House GOP voted to make America sick again,” he said. “And, I was proud to vote against this bill that takes away the basic right of our people to health care. It’s a sad day. My office has been inundated with calls from worried constituents. We heard their concerns loud and clear, but the GOP has turned its back to the very real concerns of these voters.”
Brady said its impact would be widespread.
“If TrumpCare becomes law, all of America loses,”
he said. “And, the working poor and those with chronic illnesses will be devastated.”
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., opposes the measure.
“Republicans in the House of Representatives just delivered an economic punch to the gut of middle class families in Pennsylvania,” he said. “What passed today isn’t a health care bill, but a scheme to cut taxes for millionaires and big corporations, a giveaway for special interests and forces middle class families in Pennsylvania to pay more for their health care ...
“Now that the legislation is coming to the Senate, I
am redoubling my effort to fight like hell on behalf of families, seniors and individuals with disabilities who will be immeasurably harmed by it,” Casey said.
His counterpart, U.S. Rep. Patrick Toomey, R-Pa., called it was a first step.
“The House bill is merely the first legislative step and I look forward to being a part of this process as the Senate writes its own version to repeal and replace Obamacare so that Pennsylvanians can have access to quality health care at a price they can afford,” Toomey said.