Revised Graham-Cassidy Health Care Bill Prioritizes Politics Over Patients

Washington, DC—Haywood L. Brown, M.D., president of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), released the following statement in response to the revised Graham-Cassidy bill:

“ACOG remains steadfast in opposition to any legislation that would turn back the clock on women’s health and the latest version of the Graham-Cassidy bill would do just that. It is no better than the last.

“While trying to direct money to states represented by holdout Senators, this latest, last-ditch effort continues to be dangerous, threatening to strip health care from millions of Americans and end Medicaid as we know it. This discriminatory bill is an assault on women’s health that ends guaranteed insurance coverage of maternity care and women’s health preventive services, including cancer screening and contraception.

“ACOG urges the Senators responsible for this bill to work in a bipartisan manner, submit their legislation to regular order and ensure expert input from ob-gyns and other physicians. ACOG requests that Senate Majority Leader McConnell cancel the vote, abandon this dangerous path and resume bipartisan health care reform efforts that will improve our health care system. We stand ready to work with elected officials from both sides of the aisle to develop a common-sense approach to reducing health care costs while improving our health care system.”

Read ACOG’s original statement on the Graham-Cassidy bill.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (The College), a 501(c)(3) organization, is the nation’s leading group of physicians providing health care for women. As a private, voluntary, nonprofit membership organization of more than 58,000 members, The College strongly advocates for quality health care for women, maintains the highest standards of clinical practice and continuing education of its members, promotes patient education, and increases awareness among its members and the public of the changing issues facing women’s health care. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), a 501(c)(6) organization, is its companion organization. www.acog.org