Washington, D.C. – On Thursday, Senate Republicans unveiled a TrumpCare discussion draft after weeks of secrecy and closed-door discussions. The new version of the health care repeal bill would eliminate insurance for millions of Americans, make deep cuts to Medicaid, gut key coverage protections, and drive up health care costs for older Americans and working families.

Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell (D-AL) releases the following statement:

“It is clear why Senate Republicans kept their new TrumpCare draft secret for so long – it’s an attack on the health and wellbeing of our constituents,” said Rep. Sewell. “In order to fund tax cuts for the wealthy, the Senate health care repeal draft makes deep cuts to Medicaid and drives up health care costs for older Americans and working families. The end result will be millions more uninsured Americans and significantly reduced reimbursements for small health care providers and rural hospitals. In rural America, these health care policies will bankrupt our rural hospitals and leave working families without access to the care they need. Health care should be a right, not a privilege, but this week’s TrumpCare Senate draft scraps that principle in favor of tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans.”

“Make no mistake, the loss of federal health care support from this harmful legislation would require the Alabama legislature to raise taxes, reduce services, or kick vulnerable recipients off of the program. Simply put, the cuts to Medicaid in the Senate’s draft of TrumpCare would impact all of us, through longer waiting times for all patients, and the closures of hospitals and primary care practices that cannot withstand deep cuts to such a large portion of their revenue. Regardless of how one gets health insurance in Alabama, we all have much to lose under TrumpCare.”

Since its release on Thursday, patients groups, hospitals, doctors, and seniors groups have announced their strong opposition to the Senate TrumpCare draft. Analysis by the Center for American Progress suggests that coverage losses under the Senate Health Care Repeal Bill could result in 18,100 to 27,700 additional deaths by 2026.

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Rep. Terri A. Sewell (D-AL) is serving her fourth term representing Alabama’s 7th Congressional district. She sits on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and was recently appointed to the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. Sewell is a Chief Deputy Whip and serves on the prestigious Steering and Policy Committee of the Democratic Caucus. She is also a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, and serves as Vice Chair of the Congressional Voting Rights Caucus, and Vice Chair of Outreach for the New Democrat Coalition.