Protect Our Care Illinois is extremely disappointed with the statement issued by Gov. Bruce Rauner on Tuesday in which he announced that he will not take a position on repealing the ACA and cutting Medicaid until “there is a final product.”

Senate Republicans have insisted on advancing the legislative process, and will vote on a package as early as Thursday, without making their final bill public. The opinions of governors, but especially Republican governors, have enormous influence over both the content of policy proposals as they are crafted, as well as the eventual votes of members of the state’s Congressional Delegation.

More so, while the final proposal has not yet been announced, a few facts have remained constant in every proposal Congress has offered:

• At least 22 million Americans, including at least 1 million Illinoisans, will lose health insurance;
• The Medicaid safety net would be decimated, replaced by a capped allotment, which would force the state to cut eligibility, benefits, and provider rates;
• Federal Medicaid funding would be cut by roughly 35%, which would harm kids, people with disabilities, seniors, and low-income people; and
• Patient protections, including the essential health benefits, lifetime caps on care, and protections against premium hikes for people with pre-existing conditions would be gutted

The people of Illinois would also like Congress to provide the details of a comprehensive health care proposal with enough time and opportunity to thoughtfully review and react, but, as Gov. Rauner knows, that is unlikely to happen. It is time for the governor to join other Republican governors in firmly opposing any plan that leaves more Illinoisans uninsured and caps or cuts Medicaid. Until he does so, the citizens of Illinois will continue to demand better.