***STATEMENT***

For Immediate Release
June 22, 2017

CONTACT:
Beth Harrison, Hamilton Strategies, 610.584.1096, ext. 104, Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, or Deborah Hamilton, 215.815.7716, 610.584.1096, ext. 102

Not Good Enough—New ‘Better Care Reconciliation Act’ from Senate Still Isn’t Repeal

Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom’s Twila Brase Is in Washington, D.C., Meeting With Lawmakers About Health Care Reform

PAUL, Minn.—The U.S. Senate received its first full glimpse this morning of a “discussion draft” for the long-awaited revamped health care bill, announced to his colleagues by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who also addressed the nation today.

Twila Brase, president and co-founder of Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom (CCHF, www.cchfreedom.org), is in Washington, D.C., this week to meet with lawmakers about health care reform and says that the bill is not full repeal. A few GOP lawmakers have already said they will not support the bill.

“Republicans made a commitment to the American people,” Brase said. “They committed to repealing Obamacare, and Americans put them in office to do it. Instead, Republicans are further embedding the federal controls, federal infrastructure, federal subsidies and federal dollars of Obamacare into federal law. The Senate bill is not a repeal. The House bill is not a repeal. What will Americans think when the people they put in power to repeal Obamacare only strengthen and lengthen the government’s grip on patients and doctors? This is a bill made for big insurers and big government. It’s not a bill for patients; it’s not a bill to restore freedom. It’s a bill to advance government-run health care and sustain Obamacare.”     

The U.S. Senate Committee on the Budget released the full text of the discussion draft of the 142-page “Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017” today. After the posting of the bill’s text, McConnell said that all senators would have ample time to review the bill before the vote that some say could happen before Independence Day.

CCHF, a national patient-centered health freedom organization existing to protect health care choices, individualized patient care, and medical and genetic privacy rights, has long called for the full repeal of the Affordable Care Act and has spoken out against any “repeal and replace” bill that is simply “Obamacare 2.0” or “Obamacare Lite.”

Last week, CCHF wrote a letter to McConnell regarding the “repeal and replace” bill, stating that CCHF’s strong preference is for legislation that advances patient and doctor freedom, rather than a bill that maintains Obamacare’s federal control of health care. CCHF also offered “5 Do’s and 5 Don’ts”:

DO:

1. DO jumpstart REAL insurance
2. DO allow tax exemptions/charity
3. DO fund high-risk pools to solve the pre-existing condition problem
4. DO offer lifelong private insurance
5. DO repeal, repeal, repeal

DON’T:

1. DON’T fund state reinsurance grants
2. DON’T require auto-enrollment
3. DON’T continue or extend cost-sharing reduction subsidies
4. DON’T jeopardize health sharing organizations
5. DON’T expand managed care control

Read the full letter to McConnell here.

CCHF’s initiative, The Wedge of Health Freedom (www.JointheWedge.com), which will soon mark one year, is using third-party-free direct payment to transform the entire health care system back to freedom and restore simplicity, affordability and confidentiality. Nearly 200 Wedge practices, where patients can find affordable, patient-centered care, are located in 44 states and listed online.

For more information about CCHF, visit www.cchfreedom.org, its Facebook page or its Twitter feed @CCHFreedom. Also view the media page for CCHF here. For more about The Wedge of Health Freedom, visit www.JointheWedge.com, The Wedge Facebook page or follow The Wedge on Twitter @wedgeoffreedom.

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