“The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) released today confirms what we already knew – by stripping away health coverage from millions, the bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives would imperil the health and economic security of millions of women and families. It should be dead on arrival in the U.S. Senate. The nonpartisan scoring concludes that under the AHCA, 23 million people would lose health coverage. It makes deep cuts to Medicaid and makes coverage in the marketplace more expensive and less comprehensive. It defunds Planned Parenthood and allows states to strip away essential health benefit (EHB) protections that would take us back to a time when women had to pay more than men for the health care they need.

Let’s be clear: House Republicans disregarded precedent and voted on the AHCA before the CBO score was released in order to confuse and mislead the nation about the damage this bill would cause. But we are not fooled. The AHCA decimates health coverage in order to give tax breaks to the wealthiest individuals and corporations.

The Senate must reject not only the AHCA itself, but any bill that would make health care more expensive and less accessible for working families. Instead of trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act, cut Medicaid, and defund Planned Parenthood, Congress should be working to strengthen access to affordable, comprehensive coverage with the protections all women and families deserve.”