Residents fear losing coverage if health care bill passes

<p>Many residents who live in the Hudson Valley say they fear that they will lose their coverage if the GOP health care bill passes.</p>

News 12 Staff

Jun 27, 2017, 10:22 PM

Updated 2,502 days ago

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Many residents who live in the Hudson Valley say they fear that they will lose their coverage if the GOP health care bill passes.
John Strothenke, of Yonkers, relies on a wheelchair after a spinal cord injury. He says Medicaid keeps him alive.

"I will go into convulsions and possibly go into seizures and die without my medicine,” he says.

At 55 years old, the Yonkers man is worried the health care overhaul will take away his coverage, which also pays for his home health aide.

Strothenke says without his aide’s help, he would not be able to do things like get dressed or get in and out of the shower.
The Congressional Budget Office says 22 million people would lose health care under the current proposal, in part by reducing spending to Medicaid.
While Republican leaders delayed the vote, advocates from Westchester Disabled on the Move, say they are still concerned.
"We understand that our nation is $20 trillion in debt, but budget cuts to alleviate that debt must not come from the expense of society's most vulnerable people,” says Achille Iolascon, of Westchester Disabled on the Move.
Iolascon says the bill would force people with low incomes to choose between health coverage and eating.
While Democrats have rallied against the Republican bill, Strothenke says it isn't a partisan issue. He says everyone is vulnerable.
“I didn't think I would have a spinal injury,” he says. “I didn't want to have one."


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