Graham-Cassidy Would “Greatly Harm the Nation’s Health”

Joint Statement from the American Public Health Association, Prevention Institute, Public Health Institute and Trust for America’s Health

“Graham-Cassidy would do untold damage to the nation’s health, unraveling the progress we’ve made to expand access to quality, affordable healthcare, reorient our healthcare system to value prevention and equity, and invest in a healthier future for all Americans.

“Graham-Cassidy upends efforts to improve the nation’s health in the future by threatening to strip people of access to preventive care and zeroing out the Prevention and Public Health Fund. Over the next five years alone, states and communities stand to lose more than $3 billion in funding to prevent chronic disease, stop the spread of infectious diseases, and invest in resources that support health and equity. The Prevention and Public Health Fund also provides 12 percent of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual budget. Losing this much funding—about $900 million a year—would irreparably damage our public health infrastructure, including our ability to respond to disasters and emerging epidemics. These short-term cuts will lead to more chronic conditions and exact a heavy burden of preventable illness and death—as well as higher healthcare expenditures for worse health outcomes—down the line.

“Investing in public health makes the difference between health and illness, safety and injury, and life and death. The deep cuts this bill proposes—to Medicaid, to public health and prevention—would touch every community, especially those communities that are struggling most with longstanding inequities in health and safety.

“Passing Graham-Cassidy is tantamount to legislative malpractice. The undersigned groups find this approach unacceptable and strongly urge Congress to work in a bipartisan manner  to improve the nation’s public health and healthcare systems.”

Take action

We need your help to push the Senate to stand up for healthcare—especially in these next few days, when the vote is likely to happen. Here’s how:

• Call the Senate Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and tell your senators to vote NO on ACA repeal. Even if you called last week, please call again. After you’ve called, send us a tweet or comment on our Facebook post and let us know how the conversation went.
• Click here to share our Facebook post so that we can reach every voter in every state, and don’t forget to tag your friends in priority states of Alaska, Arizona, Maine, Ohio and West Virginia—their voices are especially needed in this fight.