As a Person of Faith, a Member of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, and Your

Dear Senator:

As a person of faith, a member of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, and your constituent, I want to draw your attention to the reasons I find the Senate healthcare bill bad policy that is beyond repair and must be rejected. The latest version of the BCRA shows that this bill will never be good for the people of our state.

The new bill maintains radical cuts to the Medicaid program, which provides care to over 76 million children, elderly, people with disabilities, and others who have fallen on hard times. Make no mistake: the per capita cap will harm those who rely on this program. It artificially caps the funds we receive, putting us at the whim of a formula rather than basing funding on what we need. The Senate added a fiscal nightmare in the year 2025, when the formula plummets just as our state will require more resources for our aging population. We need true flexibility for our Medicaid program, but these caps will only bring scarcity, restriction, and budget shortfalls. The per capita cap is bad policy and not the solution for the problems our state faces.

I am very concerned with recent changes that would deregulate the individual marketplace to allow sick and healthy individuals to segregate into different risk pools. This will drive up the cost of care for people with pre-existing conditions, raising premiums and deductibles. Even people who have coverage through their employer could face annual and lifetime limits again.

Constituents understand the direction this bill takes our country. We see that our premiums will increase, tax credits and subsidies will be taken away, access for pre-existing conditions will be limited, and people struggling to get by will be left by the wayside. Meanwhile, the wealthy and corporations will enjoy tax cuts and Health Savings Accounts that will be of no use to many in our state. As a person of faith, I take seriously the call to care for our neighbors who have fallen on hard times. These policies fall short of that moral obligation.

Please stick up for your constituents and reject these harmful policies by voting no on the BCRA.

Sincerely,