On Sept. 13, 2017, Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) introduced a new bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA includes protections for those with pre-existing conditions. Their goal is to vote on the repeal before Sept. 30, 2017.

This bill, commonly called the Graham-Cassidy bill, could cause millions of Americans to lose health insurance. If passed, health insurance could become unaffordable for people with chronic conditions and low incomes. These are the groups that need health care coverage the most.

What Does This Mean for People With Food Allergies?

If the ACA is repealed without protections in place for those with chronic conditions, millions could end up paying more for less health care. This means people with conditions like food allergies may not be able to afford proper treatment and life-saving medicines.

This new bill would also do away with the Medicaid expansion and would give more power to the states to manage health care. Without protections for people chronic conditions like food allergies, states could allow insurance companies to charge them more or drop their coverage. Elderly and those with lower incomes would be at risk of losing or not being able to afford coverage too.

The Congressional Budget Office has announced that a full review of this proposed legislation will not be ready for a couple of weeks. This is past the deadline for the vote. So it is unclear at this time how many people will lose coverage and how much premiums will rise.

What Is Being Done?

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America is part of the National Health Council (NHC). Along with the NHC and the patient advocacy community, we are united against this latest attempt to repeal the ACA. We are asking Congress to Put Patients First by keeping them at the center of the health care debate. We need your help to spread this message to Congress.

Does My Voice Matter?

Yes! The more of us that contact our senators, the better our chances are that they will vote against this bill. Every voice counts.

But we don’t have a lot of time. We must act now.

Use our tool below to tell your senator to vote “No” on the Graham-Cassidy bill. Let them know people with food allergies could have less coverage and would not be able to afford life-saving medicines.

Our tool allows you to send an email, post your message on Facebook or Twitter and/or call your senator. Any action you take will help, but calling your senator will have the most impact. Our tool will patch through a phone call for you and provide talking points to help you leave a message for your senators.

To contact your senator, follow the steps below: