Tag: pre-existing conditions

Help Get These 6 KEY Senators to Stop Kavanaugh

Alert: Below are THE 6 US Senators who will decide the future of the nominee for the US Supreme Court, and thus the future of Roe v. Wade, the course of health care, and the direction of the US Supreme Court’s decisions for decades to come.

Getting these 6 to do the right thing is hard because the 4 Democrats are up for re-election in “red” states and the 2 Republicans don’t want to be at odds with their political party.

So we must show them the factsKavanaugh is Bad for Their Constituents.

We must call the 6 senators below and tell them “Vote NO on Kavanaugh. He will take away our coverage of pre-existing conditions.”

We need to make sure they know the facts. Here are just a few of the many impacting their constituents:

  • Joe Manchin needs to know that his state of West Virginia has THE highest number of people with pre-existing conditions and THE highest rate of diabetes in the country, and the 2nd highest in cancer deaths.
  • Joe Donnelly needs to know that his state of Indiana has the 7th highest rates of autism and is the 11th highest state in cancer deaths. Approximately 695,832 people (12.9%) of the population have diabetes, with another 1,719,000 (35.6%) of the adult population suffer from pre-diabetes. Every year approximately another 33,000 are diagnosed with diabetes.
  • Heidi Heitkamp needs to know that in her state of North Dakota, 33.9% have diabetes and pre-diabetes out of a state population of 755,393 (2017) – and that’s about one in two North Dakotans, 50 percent, lives with a pre-existing condition. North Dakota is one of the top 13 states in new lung cancer cases and survivals.
  • Claire McClaskill needs to know that in her state of Missouri, 51% of the population – more than 1 out of every 2 Missourians – has a pre-existing condition. 332,300 Missouri children already have been diagnosed with  pre-existing conditions, and that  Missouri has the 6th highest rate of lung cancer in the country – and that approximately 699,992 people in Missouri (13.2%) have diabetes, and another 1,625,000 people, (35.9%), have pre-diabetes.
  • Susan Collins needs to know that her state of Maine 53% of the population – more than 1 out of every 2 Mainers – is living with a pre-existing condition. Maine is 9th highest in cancer deaths and 11.1% of the adult population has diabetes. 28,000 people in Maine are living with Alzheimer’s disease, affecting an additional 69,000 family and friends.
  • Lisa Murkowski needs to know that in her state of Alaska 1 out of every 2 Alaskans has a pre-existing condition. Also, Alaska has the highest number of annual diagnosed cases of Alzheimer’s per year. 59,186 people in Alaska, (10.9% of the adult population) have already been diagnosed with diabetes, and that another 194,000 people (36.7% of the adult population) have pre-diabetes. The cancer rate in Alaska is higher than the national average. This is just a smattering of the facts about people who will be thrown off of health insurance.These 6 Senators need to know THEY MUST VOTE NO on Kavanaugh.

Brett Kavanaugh, the president’s nominee to become the next US Supreme Court, has already made clear that he believes companies cannot be required to cover pre-existing conditions as mandated by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This is not a party-based issue. It is in no way a partisan issue. Everyone in the country needs health care and there are over 130 million folks in the United States with pre-existing conditions.* (Find your state.)

(Kavanaugh also believes sitting presidents cannot be held accountable for their actions.)

We need to get the senators to focus on is that Kavanaugh’s first attack will be on the ACA’s coverage of pre-existing conditions. He has over 2.5 million people’s health care in the crosshairs.

In June, the Department of Justice joined a lawsuit brought by 20 states challenging that ACA requirement that pre-existing conditions must be covered. They are asking that the courts eliminate these ACA protections. (The Lawsuit)

According to The Wall Street Journal, the adverse impact of this lawsuit will be felt on the individual market, including approximately 175 million people who get health coverage from small and large employers.*

This lawsuit is expected to make it to the US Supreme Court.

If Kavanaugh is confirmed, he will be the deciding vote to take away health insurance coverage from hundreds of millions of people with pre-existing conditions.

Examples of people who will lose coverage If Brett Kavanaugh becomes the next Supreme Court Justice:

  1. Any person on the Autism spectrum will be deemed having a pre-existing condition and will not be able to get coverage – AND IF THE FAMILY CAN FIND COVERAGE,  the cost will likely be through the roof. This is true for all special needs conditions. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) April 2018 report, 1 in 59 children are living with an autism diagnosis.
  2. Dementia, Alzheimer’s: both pre-existing conditions. “An estimated 5.7 million Americans of all ages are living with Alzheimer’s dementia in 2018. This number includes an estimated 5.5 million people age 65 and older and approximately 200,000 individuals under age 65 who have younger-onset Alzheimer’s.” “It is estimated that nearly 500,000 new cases of Alzheimer’s disease will be diagnosed this year.”
  3. Diabetes: 30.3 million people in the United States (9.4% of the population) have diabetes, according to the 2017 National Diabetes Statistics, 2017, published by the CDC. West Virginia has the highest rate of diabetes in the nation.
  4. Pregnancy will be deemed a pre-existing condition as it was before the ACA became law. According to Dr. Leah Kaufman, Legislative Chair of District II of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a pregnant woman could end up paying $17,000 a year for health insurance.*

These 6 US Senators will determine the future of Roe v. Wade and direction of the US Supreme Court’s decisions for decades to come.

US Senator Joe Donnelly

Indiana – Democrat

Washington, D.C.
720 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-4814
Fax: (202) 224-5011


Click Here for
 locations & telephone numbers of offices in Indiana

 

US Senator Joe Manchin

West Virginia – Democrat

Washington, D.C.

306 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington D.C. 20510

Phone: (202) 224-3954
Fax:(202) 228-0002

Click Here for locations & telephone numbers of offices in West Virginia

 

US Senator Heidi Heitkamp

North Dakota – Democrat

Washington, D.C.

SH-516 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-2043
Fax: (202) 224-7776

Click Here & go to the bottom of the page for locations & telephone numbers of offices in North Dakota

 

US Senator Clair McClaskill

Missouri – Democrat

Washington, D.C.
503 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-6154
Fax: (202) 228-6326

US Senator Susan Collins

Maine – Republican

Washington, D.C.
413 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Main: (202) 224-2523
Fax: (202) 224-2693

US Senator Lisa Murkowski

Alaska – Republican

Washington, D.C.
522 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-6665
Fax: (202) 224-5301Click Here for locations & telephone numbers of offices in Alaska

 

  • https://www.npr.org/2018/06/08/618263772/trump-administration-move-imperils-pre-existing-condition-protections
  • https://www.protectourcare.org/130-million-strong-month-of-action/
  • https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/brett-kavanaugh-could-take-an-ax-to-obamacare/2018/07/09/c8817c50-83df-11e8-8f6c-46cb43e3f306_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.f4b1cd989379
  • Get Health Coverage at Work? Lawsuit Against ACA Could Affect You, Too, Wall Street Journal, 6/13/2018
  • https://www.findatopdoc.com/Healthy-Living/15-US-states-with-highest-rates-of-autism/7-Indiana
  • State of Obesity Better Policies for a Healthier America, Diabetes in the United States
  • www.firstquotehealth.com/health-insurance-news/pregnancy-pre-existing-condition
  • https://fox2now.com/2018/03/01/missouri-has-the-6th-highest-lung-cancer-rate-in-the-nation/
  • http://main.diabetes.org/dorg/PDFs/Advocacy/burden-of-diabetes/missouri.pdf
  • https://www.brightfocus.org/alzheimers/article/alzheimers-disease-facts-figures
  • https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/facts-figures
  • https://www.afj.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Kavanaugh-SCOTUS-First-Look.pdf
  • https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=12283140068462647556&q=661%2BF.3d%2B1%2B&hl=en&as_sdt=20003
  • https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=7566948244478302925&q=799%2BF.3d%2B1035&hl=en&as_sdt=20003