{"id":1845,"date":"2017-09-21T20:18:00","date_gmt":"2017-09-21T20:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/democrats.org\/blog\/2017\/09\/21\/cassidy-graham-heller-repeal-plan-would-make-it-harder-for-alaskans-to-combat-opioid-crisis\/"},"modified":"2017-09-21T20:18:00","modified_gmt":"2017-09-21T20:18:00","slug":"cassidy-graham-heller-repeal-plan-would-make-it-harder-for-alaskans-to-combat-opioid-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/cassidy-graham-heller-repeal-plan-would-make-it-harder-for-alaskans-to-combat-opioid-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Cassidy-Graham-Heller Repeal Plan Would Make It Harder for Alaskans to Combat Opioid Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cassidy-Graham-Heller repeal plan would have a devastating impact on Alaska’s ability to combat the opioid crisis. In addition to dismantling Medicaid with a $844 million program cut<\/a> in 2027 alone and the end of the Medicaid expansion, it would allow insurers to drop the ACA’s required coverage for substance abuse treatment. In particular Medicaid, which covers 18 percent of Alaskans has played a critical role in this fight, providing coverage for a third of all Americans<\/a> who are struggling with opioid addiction.<\/p>\n

“The opioid epidemic has devastated communities across Alaska, and the last thing Alaskans need is for Republicans to take away their access to health care and critical resources,” said DNC spokesperson Vedant Patel. “While it’s bad enough that Trump has failed to live up to his promise to formally declare the opioid epidemic a national emergency, he is now leading the charge to strip protections and resources from Alaskan families who need them most. The Cassidy-Graham-Heller repeal bill is even worse for working Alaskans than previous repeal attempts, and Democrats will not sit idly by while Republicans continue their heartless crusade and destroy the lives of millions of Americans.” <\/p>\n

BACKGROUND<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Cassidy-Graham-Heller repeal plan: <\/strong><\/p>\n