The PA Breast Cancer Coalition represents hundreds of thousands of breast cancer survivors and their families across the state. For that reason, we need to tell you about something important happening right now in our country that will affect you, your family and your health insurance.
Recently, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass the American Health Care Act, also known as Trumpcare. This bill would repeal and replace the current Affordable Care Act, which is also referred to as Obamacare. If that happens, we will no lo
nger have FEDERAL health insurance protections for people with pre-existing conditions like breast cancer. Instead, the decision to cover or not cover pre-existing conditions would be left to individual states. States can put people with pre-existing conditions into “high-risk pools” where insurance companies can charge people more money for health insurance, if they are covered at all. We had high-risk pools before and they did not work.
We cannot let this happen for breast cancer survivors and others with pre-existing conditions. It could mean the difference between life and death.
We want to thank the Pennsylvania congressmen who voted against the bill which removed federal health insurance protections for people with pre-existing conditions. That bill is called the American Health Care Act (AHCA) / Trumpcare.
Where is your congressman on this list? Click here to find YOUR congressman
Now, the bill is in the U.S. Senate. U.S. Senator Bob Casey has said he would vote NO on any bill that removes federal health insurance protections for pre-existing conditions and, in January, introduced his own amendment protecting Pennsylvanians with pre-existing conditions like breast cancer. U.S. Senator Pat Toomey has not yet taken a position on whether to save federal coverage for people with pre-existing conditions.