Senator Durbin, Advocate Leaders Speak Out Against Graham-Cassidy Bill

On September 25, 2017, Senator Dick Durbin, joined by leaders from the health care community, came to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center to speak out against the latest GOP effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

Among other things, the proposed bill authored by Senators Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy would significantly roll back protections for patients with pre-existing conditions. It also aims to reverse the Medicaid expansion and individual mandate established under the Affordable Care Act.

The Congressional Budget Office’s analysis of the bill’s potential impact revealed the bill would lead to a $133 billion deficit reduction by 2026 but at the expense of millions of Americans losing health insurance. According to the Illinois Health and Hospital Association, approximately 1 million Illinoisans could lose coverage under the proposed repeal.

“This week, congressional Republicans will once again attempt to repeal a law that has brought health insurance to more than one million Illinoisans, provided protections for people with pre-existing conditions, reduced prescription drug costs for seniors, and ended insurance discrimination based on medical history, gender, and age,” Senator Durbin said. “Instead of voting on another partisan repeal bill, Congress should be focused on other pressing health issues that need to get done this week. Let’s reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Let’s also reauthorize funding for our nation’s community health centers. And finally, let’s turn toward a real, bipartisan effort to strengthen and improve our health system for all Americans.”

Senator Durbin was joined by Dr. Shastri Swaminathan, a psychiatrist at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Dr. Frank Belmonte, a pediatrician and Chief Medical Officer for Advocate Children’s Hospital, Access Community Health Network CEO Donna Thompson and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Government Advocate Lisa Callaway.

“Forty percent of people who receive behavioral health care in Illinois are covered through Medicaid. For us at Masonic, it’s even more. It has a huge impact on our ability to treat patients,” said Dr. Swaminathan. “The proposed Graham-Cassidy bill completely decimates Medicaid and is, in fact, a step in the wrong direction.”

In his address, Dr. Belmonte also urged lawmakers to act quickly and reauthorize the Children’s Health Coverage Program, which helps bridge the health care gap for children not otherwise covered by Medicaid. If CHIP funding is allowed to expire at the end of the month, more than 250,000 children in Illinois would lose health coverage.

“If we want to make our country heathier, better, it starts with our kids,” Dr. Belmonte said. “Congress needs to act now to reauthorize CHIP and preserve Medicaid funding to encourage wellness that lasts into adulthood.”

Under a process called budget reconciliation, Senate Republicans have until September 30 to secure 50 votes to pass the proposed bill. By the same deadline, Congress must act to re-authorize several government-funded health programs, including CHIP and community health center funding.

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Advocate Illinois Medical Center is a 397-bed non-profit teaching hospital located in the Lake View neighborhood on Chicago’s North Side. The medical center has a Level I Trauma Center and a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the highest designations awarded by the state of Illinois, and offers comprehensive inpatient and outpatient care, including cardiovascular, oncology, digestive health and neurosciences services. A recipient of numerous awards for quality and clinical excellence, Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center has achieved Magnet designation for excellence in nursing services from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. The medical center has also been named a Leader in LGBT Healthcare Equality by the Human Rights Campaign’s Healthcare Equality Index. Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center is part of Advocate Health Care, the largest fully integrated health system in Illinois. For more information, visit www.advocatehealth.com/immc.