AURORA, Colo., July 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- With the
Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) slated to come up for debate
in the U.S. Senate, Children's Hospital Colorado (Children's
Colorado) is reiterating its call
for U.S. Senator Cory Gardner (R -
Colo.) to carry an amendment to the bill to limit the Medicaid
coverage losses for Colorado's
kids.
Children's Colorado has been advocating with Sen.
Gardner on changes to the BCRA to limit the cuts to
longstanding Medicaid coverage for children.
"For more than a half-century, long before the Affordable
Care Act (ACA) and long before the health care debate was poisoned
by partisanship, the United States
has protected kids in need of healthcare," said Bill Lindsay, chairman of the board at
Children's Hospital Colorado. "Senator Gardner has been an
eloquent spokesman for the need to protect children on Medicaid,
and now he has the opportunity to act on those principles."
The Medicaid expansion in the ACA did not primarily benefit
children. Now, the current version of the BCRA goes far beyond
simply repealing the ACA and would actually slash longstanding
coverage for children that goes back to the creation of Medicaid in
1965.
Children's Colorado strongly
opposes the BCRA. An Avalere analysis estimates the bill would cut
kids' Medicaid funding by $43 billion
over 10 years. The amendment Children's Colorado is pushing would limit the deep cuts
to children's funding in the bill, though funding would still be
reduced relative to current law.
"We urge Senator Gardner to put forward an amendment to the
BCRA to limit the bill's harm to children. Colorado's kids are counting on Cory," said
Jena Hausmann, president and CEO of
Children's Hospital Colorado.
Editorial boards across the state – from The Gazette in
Colorado Springs to the Pueblo
Chieftain and The Daily
Sentinel in Grand
Junction-- have called on Congress to protect the essential
safety net for children's medical coverage.
Voters across Colorado agree. A
public opinion survey by leading Republican polling firm The
Tarrance Group found that, regardless of their political
affiliation, 85% of Colorado voters agreed that "regardless of
whether Obamacare is ultimately repealed or replaced, Congress
should maintain the longstanding benefits that Medicaid has
guaranteed children since 1965."
Last month, a bipartisan group of 39 business, community, and
political leaders sent a letter to Colorado's U.S. Senators Gardner and
Michael Bennet (D – Colo.), urging
them to ensure that Medicaid coverage for children is not impacted
by efforts to repeal and replace the ACA.
About Children's Hospital Colorado
Children's Hospital
Colorado (Children's Colorado) has
defined and delivered pediatric health care excellence for more
than 100 years. Founded in 1908, Children's Colorado is a leading pediatric network
entirely devoted to the health and well-being of children.
Continually acknowledged as one of the nation's outstanding
pediatric hospitals by U.S. News & World Report,
Children's Colorado is known for
both its nationally and internationally recognized medical,
research, education and advocacy programs, as well as comprehensive
everyday care for kids throughout Colorado and surrounding states. Children's
Colorado is the winner of the 2015
American Hospital Association-McKesson Quest for Quality Prize, and
is a 2013-2017 Most Wired hospital according to Hospitals &
Health Networks magazine. Children's Colorado also is recognized for
excellence in nursing from the American Nurses Credentialing
Centers and has been designated a Magnet® hospital since
2005. The hospital's family-centered, collaborative approach
combines the nation's top pediatric doctors,
nurses and researchers to pioneer new approaches to
pediatric medicine. With urgent, emergency and specialty care
locations throughout Metro Denver and Southern Colorado, including its campus on the
Anschutz Medical Campus, Children's Colorado provides a full spectrum of
pediatric specialties. For more information, visit
www.childrenscolorado.org and connect with Children's Colorado on
Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
Children's Hospital Colorado complies with applicable Federal
civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race,
color, national origin, age, disability, or sex.
ATENCIÓN: si habla español, tiene a su disposición servicios
gratuitos de asistencia lingüística. Llame al 1-720-777-9800.
CHÚ Ý: Nếu bạn nói Tiếng Việt, có các
dịch vụ hỗ trợ ngôn ngữ miễn phí dành cho bạn. Gọi số
1-720-777-9800
http://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-individuals/section-1557
Media Contact:
Elizabeth
Whitehead, Children's Hospital Colorado
Media Pager: 303-890-8314
View original
content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/childrens-hospital-colorado-to-sen-cory-gardner-its-time-to-act-300494131.html
SOURCE Children’s Hospital Colorado