322,000 People in Illinois’ Sixth District With A Pre-Existing Condition Could Have Lost Coverage Under Roskam Plan

(Downers Grove, IL) October 4, 2018 – Today, career politician Peter Roskam admitted to Crain’s Chicago Business that the health care plan he supported last summer would have led to many people with pre-existing conditions losing their health coverage. In response, Sean Casten, Sixth District Candidate for Congress, released the following statement:

“Peter Roskam has been lying to voters this entire time, and finally admitted he has no intention of protecting individuals with pre-existing conditions. First, Peter Roskam voted 14 times to repeal the protections that force insurance companies to cover people with pre-existing conditions. Then, he voted to allow insurance companies to once again discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions. It’s time we replaced Peter Roskam and sent someone to Congress who will protect people with pre-existing conditions and is focused on making health care more affordable for families in Illinois.”

In a story examining the divide on health care in the race and Roskam’s attempts to re-write his record on pre-existing conditions, Crain’s reported: “Team Roskam responds that while he repeatedly has voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, he voted for legislation to replace it with a new measure that would reinstate the ban on denying coverage to those with pre-existing health conditions—as long as they hadn’t previously dropped their insurance.”

According to independent fact checkers, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, and the AARP, the Republican health care repeal bill that Roskam supported would have weakened protections for those with pre-existing conditions, allowing insurers to discriminate against them and making their coverage unaffordable.

Prior to the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), health insurers were allowed to deny coverage or charge higher prices to those with pre-existing conditions and millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions were not able to obtain health insurance. 322,000 people in the Sixth District have a pre-existing condition and could have lost their coverage had Roskam’s many attempts to repeal the ACA been successful.

This is Peter Roskam’s latest attempt to re-rewrite his record on pre-existing conditions. After voting 14 times to repeal protections for people with preexisting conditions, Roskam signed onto a non-binding resolution yesterday that does not protect one single person with a pre-existing condition. Previously, Peter Roskam called concerns over coverage for those with pre-existing conditions a “straw man.” In that hearing, Peter Roskam voted against an amendment to ensure that insurance plans purchased through Health Savings Accounts could not exclude coverage of those with pre-existing conditions.

Peter Roskam’s statement today completely contradicts his previous claims about the importance of protecting coverage of those with pre-existing conditions, including a past claim in a radio debate with Sean Casten on WBBM.