HEADLINE: Cramer’s Office Threatens Constituents

(BISMARCK, ND) – Two headlines we’re sure Cramer was not looking for after his ‘set the record straight’ (read: damage-control) press conference:

High Plains Reader: Cramer’s Office Threatens Constituents
By C.S. Hagen
August 23, 2018

Key Points:

• Mary Rennich and a handful of North Dakotans only wanted to listen, perhaps ask a question about healthcare if time allowed during a Republican press conference at the North Dakota Farm Bureau on Wednesday. Instead of having their opinions welcomed, current Congressman Kevin Cramer’s campaign manager, Pat Finken, said they were on private property, and threatened Rennich and others with physical removal from the building if they dared say a word.

• The Republican press conference on Wednesday was in damage control mode, attempting to “set the record straight” on healthcare issues.

• Cramer has voted 65 times against current healthcare laws, and voted to repeal the ACA without a replacement five times. He also voted to dismantle Medicaid expansion.

• If the federal lawsuit [to dismantle the ACA] succeeds, insurance companies would be able to deny, drop, or charge more for coverage for more than 317,000 North Dakotans with pre-existing conditions, 47,000 state residents with health insurance through Obamacare, and 7,500 young adults currently enrolled on their parent’s health insurance plans, according to Dakotans for Health.
• The Graham-Cassidy bill, deeply unpopular [among] Democrats and Republicans including senators John McCain and Susan Collins, will take up to $676 million away from Medicaid. Premiums would skyrocket, could raise costs for seniors slapping them with an age tax.
• More than 150 patient groups, physicians, and hospitals, including American Medical Association, American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, and others, say that repealing ACA would have devastating effects on insurance markets and the economy.
• Partial repeal of the ACA or eliminating Medicaid expansion would be “catastrophic,” forcing 32 million Americans from their insurance plans by 2026, according to the Public Health Scholars and the American Public Health Association. Additionally, before the ACA protections, discrimination against those with pre-existing conditions, age rating, and annual and lifetime caps were out of reach for many older adults.
• If Mary Rennich and her family lost insurance, she would be facing more than $7,500 a month in medical bills. “Being a citizen of North Dakota, I think we should have a voice,” Rennich said. “I don’t think they should be afraid to hear questions and have some answers ready. I think that’s their responsibility… I would like to ask some questions. And I know there are a lot of other families that would like to ask, too, because we’re really scared. We’re very frightened.”

Read the full article here.

NDxPlains: Misleading Claims at “Set the Record Straight” Press Conference
By Tyler Axness
August 23, 2018

Key Points:

• Yesterday NDGOP candidates and officials attempted to “set the record straight” on their actions regarding health care. The attempt took place at a press conference in Bismarck. Reading the reports from journalists in attendance, there were quite a few misleading claims made by Kevin Cramer, Kelly Armstrong, Wayne Stenehjem, and Jon Godfread. In other words, they weren’t exactly shooting “straight” in their statements.
• Congressman Kevin Cramer has voted to repeal or undermine the Affordable Care Act over sixty times since taking office. In 2015, he bragged about voting to repeal the law in its entirety. Repealing the law in its entirety would eliminate the protections of people with pre-existing conditions. To now try and claim otherwise at a press conference is election year spin at its worse.
  
• Cramer has also claimed Graham-Cassidy, a replacement plan, would protect people with pre-existing conditions. That’s not accurate. While it technically didn’t gut the entire thing, consumers could be charged more for care or completely priced out of the insurance market because of pre-existing conditions. Directors of Medicaid across the nation also raised flags about the proposal’s shortfalls. 
• To top it off, Cramer accuses Democrats of using health care as, “a theme to try and ride into this election cycle.” Apparently, he delivered that line without a hint of irony nor a level of self-awareness. Recall, he voted over 60 times to repeal the law. When asked about it, he claimed those were “symbolic” meaning for political motives. Now, after years of running on health care, they control the federal government and they don’t want you to talk about health care because it isn’t politically advantageous for them.

Read the full article here.

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