Farmers Union Calls on Senate to Reject AHCA

The National Farmers Union is calling on the U.S. Senate to reject the House-passed American Health Care Act. NFU says the act will cause millions of Americans to lose their health insurance, lessen protections for those with preexisting conditions, and adversely affect family farmers and rural Americans. NFU President Roger Johnson expressed disappointed in House passage of the bill, saying many of the issues from the original legislation opposed by NFU in March still exist in the bill. Those issues include caps to Medicaid, and basing subsidies on age. Johnson says: “House leadership has made the legislation worse by providing even fewer protections for family farmers and rural Americans.” The recent MacArthur amendment to the bill, which allows states to apply for waivers to parts of the law, would be “particularly detrimental to individuals with preexisting conditions,” according to Jonson. He says the National Farmers Union priority for any health care bill is that “it offers coverage for more people rather than fewer."