This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Congressional Budget Office came out with its analysis of the American Health Care Act as developed by the GOP. The CBO projects that 14 million people will lose their health care coverage in the next year and that 24 million will lose their coverage by 2026.
Also in this plan is a large cut to Medicaid funding, which would remove the "safety net" of health care for the poorest Americans, causing some rural hospitals to close, as they rely on Medicaid reimbursements. This plan also has cuts to public health prevention funding, as well as a defunding of Planned Parenthood that provides women's health care to 2.5 million women each year with 50 percent of their services provided to women in rural areas. Only 3 percent of Planned Parenthood's services relate to abortion services. Medicaid would no longer reimburse them for any women's health care services.
Catherine Rampell had an excellent column in The Tribune (March 14) that explained the ramifications of the GOP plan.
In a September 2015 interview, Donald Trump told CBS' Scott Pelley that his plan would "cover everybody." Our members of Congress enjoy great government health insurance, and yet they would cut services and funding to people who need help to be insured.
This is shameful.
Diane Forster-Burke
Cottonwood Heights