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Three Republican governors — John Kasich of Ohio, Brian Sandoval of Nevada, and Charlie Baker of Massachusetts — signed onto a letter sent to congressional leaders Friday rejecting the current iteration of the GOP healthcare bill.
In the letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, three Republican governors and four Democratic governors called for bipartisan efforts to reform the healthcare system.
“While we certainly agree that reforms need to be made to our nation’s health care system, as Governors from both sides of the political aisle, we feel that true and lasting reforms are best approached by finding common ground in a bipartisan fashion,” the letter said.
The governors also admonished the House GOP version of the American Health Care Act for creating more problems in the healthcare system than it solves.
“It calls into question coverage for the vulnerable and fails to provide the necessary resources to ensure that no one is left out, while shifting significant costs to the states,” said the letter. “Medicaid provisions included in this bill are particularly problematic. Instead, we recommend Congress address factors we can all agree need fixing.”
All three states took advantage of the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion, which the House bill would phase out.
Here’s the full letter and signees:
Dear Majority Leader McConnell and Minority Leader Schumer:
We have watched with great interest the recent debate and House passage of H.R. 1628, the American Health Care Act. While we certainly agree that reforms need to be made to our nation’s health care system, as Governors from both sides of the political aisle, we feel that true and lasting reforms are best approached by finding common ground in a bipartisan fashion.
To that end, we remain hopeful that there is an opportunity to craft solutions to these challenges that can find support across party lines, delivering improvements to result in a system that is available and affordable for every American.
We believe that, first and foremost, Congress should focus on improving our nation’s private health insurance system. Improvements should be based on a set of guiding principles, included below, which include controlling costs and stabilizing the market, that will positively impact the coverage and care of millions of Americans, including many who are dealing with mental illness, chronic health problems, and drug addiction.
Unfortunately, H.R. 1628, as passed by the House, does not meet these challenges. It calls into question coverage for the vulnerable and fails to provide the necessary resources to ensure that no one is left out, while shifting significant costs to the states. Medicaid provisions included in this bill are particularly problematic. Instead, we recommend Congress address factors we can all agree need fixing.
We stand ready to work with you and your colleagues to develop a proposal that is fiscally sound and provides quality, affordable coverage for our most vulnerable citizens.
Sincerely,
John R. Kasich, Governor of Ohio; Steve Bullock, Governor of Montana; Brian Sandoval, Governor of Nevada; John W. Hickenlooper, Governor of Colorado; Charles D. Baker, Governor of Massachusetts; Tom Wolf, Governor of Pennsylvania; John Bel Edwards, Governor of Louisiana
