Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today issued the following statement on the death of the Republican’s Graham-Cassidy health care bill:

“I’m pleased to hear Majority Leader McConnell will not proceed with the Graham-Cassidy bill. I believe it was the worst of all Republican health care bills and a real danger to California and our nation.

“According to CBO, the number of people with insurance would have been reduced by millions—U.C. Berkley estimated nearly 7 million in California alone.

“Billions of dollars would have been shifted from states that cared enough to expand Medicaid to those that put politics before people. California would have been hardest-hit, losing $139 billion by 2027 and $800 billion over the next two decades.

“Medicaid would have been cut by more than $1 trillion over the next decade, crippling the program and devastating care for our most vulnerable citizens. Many people fail to realize the significant amount of Medicaid funds that go to children’s hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. I believe this bill would have resulted in a large number of those facilities closing their doors.

“The bill would have ended the guarantee of coverage for essential benefits for women, including maternity care and contraception, and women covered by Medicaid would no longer have been able to receive care from Planned Parenthood.

“And most egregious, the bill would have allowed states to waive coverage protections for those with pre-existing conditions, charging them more for coverage and not covering the care they need.

“This was one terrible bill, and I for one am happy it has been consigned to the dustbin of history. Senators Alexander and Murray had made significant progress toward a bipartisan bill to stabilize the individual insurance market and I hope they are able to pick up where they left off.”

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