Kevin Cramer is done as a Congressman

After dozens of votes to repeal ACA and over four years in Congress under Kevin Cramer’s leadership, GOP still has no healthcare plan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 24, 2017

(BISMARCK, ND) – After the House leadership’s decision to pull Rep. Kevin Cramer’s plan to take away coverage from 24 million Americans, the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party released the following statement:

“Kevin Cramer has voted dozens of times to repeal the ACA over his four years in Congress. He sat on the committee that drafted a bill that would have negatively impacted tens of thousands of North Dakotans, and he still doesn’t have a workable solution for healthcare. If Cramer’s healthcare bill was enacted, it would result in nearly 34,000 North Dakotans losing their coverage. Further, it would result in higher premiums and less security for the 25,000 people age 50 to 64 who purchase insurance on the marketplace.

“In an attempt to placate the most extreme elements of the House GOP, the original bill was made even worse and Republicans moved to eliminate Essential Health Benefits from Americans’ coverage. If enacted, insurance companies would have no longer been required to cover the following services:

– Outpatient care
– Emergency services
– Hospitalization
– Pregnancy, maternity, and newborn care
– Mental health and substance use disorder
– Prescription drugs
– Rehabilitative and habilitative services
– Laboratory services
– Preventive care
– Pediatric services, including oral and vision care for children

“After those requirements were stripped and other changes were made to the bill, the CBO found that the bill became far more expensive while also taking away health insurance from 24 million Americans. Despite Kevin Cramer’s best efforts, this inadequate bill did not have the votes to pass.

“Rep. Cramer should work across the aisle, on behalf of all North Dakotans, to find real, workable solutions to the challenges facing our healthcare system. Doing so will help improve affordability and coverage for his constituents and all Americans.”

# # #