WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following an announcement that the U.S. House of Representatives has postponed its vote on a shortsighted bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) released the following statement. Senator King also announced that he will join with hospital leaders and health care providers tomorrow, Friday, March 24^th at 1:30 p.m. at Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan to discuss how the bill and its proposed amendments would set back the battle against the opioid epidemic.

“Simply put, the House bill is a bad bill – and it’s bad because it strips tens of thousands of Maine people of their health insurance, skyrockets costs for older, working class folks – especially in northern and Downeast Maine, and deals a blow to our fight against the opioid epidemic, which is taking the lives of our family, friends, and loved ones,” Senator King said. “Tomorrow I’m going to bring together hospital leaders and health care providers to listen to their thoughts on how this bill would affect the ability of people fighting opioid addiction to receive treatment, and in the meantime, I continue to strongly urge my colleagues to abandon this shortsighted repeal effort and, instead, commit to making meaningful improvements to the Affordable Care Act.”

The proposed replacement for the ACA, which the House postponed a vote on tonight, would eliminate what are known as “essential health benefits” which are items and services that are currently required by law to be covered by insurance plans. Along with hospital care, prescription drug coverage, pregnancy and child birth, and other services, one of the essential health benefits is coverage for mental health and substance use disorders, including behavioral health treatment. If eliminated, which the latest negotiations on the bill would do, then insurance companies would be able to develop policies in the individual market that would not cover mental health or substance use disorder treatment, or charge astronomical prices for plans that do.

Additionally, recent reports indicate that changes proposed to the legislation would also eliminate a provision that would allow kids up to age 26 to stay on their parents’ insurance plans, which, for younger people struggling to fight addiction, could also serve as a significant barrier to them obtaining the treatment they need.

The discussion tomorrow will bring together Dr. Gust Stringos, Medical Director for Redington-Fairview; Dana Kempton, Associate Director for Redington-Fairview; Suzanne Walsh, CEO of Kennebec Valley Community Action Program; Cheryl Leonard, Health Navigator for Kennebec Valley Community Action Program; Malory Shaunessy, the Executive Director of the Alliance for Addiction and Mental Health Services for Kennebec Behavioral Health; Tom McAdam, CEO of Kennebec Behavioral Health; Mark Sirois, the Administrative Director of MaineHealth; and Emilie van Eeghen, the Chief Behavioral Health Officer at MaineGeneral Health.

Prior to the start of the discussion, Senator King will also tour the hospital, which is where one of his sons was born.

The event will be livestreamed via Senator King’s Facebook page. Tune in live HERE.

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