To the Editor:
After Rep. Erik Paulsen’s OpEd (My health care vote will put Minnesotans back in control, May 8, Star Tribune) I went searching for more clarity. Among many published items, I found a summary article, Prestigious medical groups denounce health care vote, at cbsnews.com [1] I learned Congressman Paulsen, my CD3 representative, lies by omission.
Consider this from the American Academy of Pediatrics statement on AHCA:
The rate of children’s health coverage in our country is at a historic high of 95 percent; the AHCA would not only halt this progress, it would tear it down. By dismantling Medicaid through capped funding and the elimination of the Medicaid expansion, those who will suffer the most are those who need health care the most, including the 37 million children across the country who rely on the program. Medicaid works for these children, including those with special health care needs and those from low-income families – they are more likely to get check-ups, miss less school, graduate and enter the workforce than their uninsured peers.
Mr. Paulsen’s OpEd never mentions Medicaid or the $880 billion removed from Medicaid (and those 37 million kids). Indeed, Secretary Price and Speaker Ryan also have difficulty explaining. (GOP Struggles to Explain AHCA’s $880 Billion Medicaid Cuts, The Fiscal Times, May 8.)
Does Mr. Paulsen seriously believe AHCA does the right thing for Minnesota’s children? Does he care if children frequently featured in his photo-op school visits are affected? Erik Paulsen’s vote for AHCA as well as his dishonest defense of the bill are unforgivable.
Clara McIver, Plymouth
submitted to the Plymouth Sun-Current May 17, 2017