“It opens the door to outright discrimination. It would let insurance companies and corporations cut off pregnant women, overweight guys, older Americans, or anyone — because some executive claims it’s part of his moral code. Maybe that wouldn’t happen, but I don’t want to take the chance.”
–Elizabeth Warren
I’m proud to say I support Elizabeth Warren. Everyday I think about it, I’m proud to say, I support Elizabeth Warren. She doesn’t mince words. When she speaks on an issue, she says what she thinks and why she thinks it. Unlike her opponent, she’s a leader who is not afraid to tackle a controversial issue.
It comes as no surprise that she is against the Blunt Amendment–not because she’s against compromise, she supported Obama’s compromise for religious conscience–but because she recognizes the Blunt Amendment as the trojan horse it is, an attack on the Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s landmark healthcare legislation and a threat to health insurance as we know it.
Greg Sargent spoke with Warren and wrote about her view of the Blunt Amendment:
Warren separated herself from other prominent Democrats, who have approached the politics of birth control with a caution bordering on skittishness.
“I am shocked that Senator Brown jumped in to support such an extreme measure,” Warren told me by phone just now. “This is an all new attack on health care. Any insurance company could leave anyone without health care, just when they need it most.”
The measure — sponsored by Senators Roy Blunt and Marco Rubio — would “ensure that health care stakeholders retain the right to provide, purchase, or enroll in health coverage that is consistent with their religious beliefs and moral convictions” in the Affordable Care Act. Warren said the measure would “open the door to discrimination.”
“This is an extreme attack on every one of us,” Warren said. “It opens the door to outright discrimination. It would let insurance companies and corporations cut off pregnant women, overweight guys, older Americans, or anyone — because some executive claims it’s part of his moral code. Maybe that wouldn’t happen, but I don’t want to take the chance.”
The political calculation of the Brown campaign seems to be that this is a wedge issue for Catholic voters, but Warren doesn’t think much of the politics.
“I don’t think this will go over well in Massachusetts,” she said. “I think the people of Massachusetts will want to hear about it.”
Much of the commentary on this issue has focused on the political vulnerability of Obama and Dems, given the crucial role Catholic swing voters play in national elections, with few noting that the politics of it are also potentially bad for Republicans. But Warren’s unapologetic and aggressive use of it in perhaps the most closely watched Senate race in the country could begin to shift that storyline.
Warren sees the amendment as a gift to insurance companies:
“This election is about whose side you stand on,” she said. “Here’s an example of giving power to insurance companies and corporations to undercut basic health care coverage. I’m going to fight for families to keep that coverage. The economics around health care are huge for families.”
This isn’t an just amendment to the ACA legislation; it would affect all health insurance. The National Women’s Law Center explains,
The Blunt Amendment allows employers and insurance companies to refuse coverage of any health care service required under the new health care law based on undefined “religious beliefs or moral convictions.” This creates a huge loophole in the new health care law’s coverage requirements. For example, any corporation whose CEO opposes contraception based on his “moral convictions” could deny all coverage of contraception or any other service to the company’s employees. Even more disturbing, a CEO’s view of “morality” could potentially include concern for the cost of a particular benefit. Such broad, undefined refusals (without any protections for the insured) would result in millions of individuals losing vital health service coverage.
Doesn’t she know that Massachusetts has its own Mandated Minimal Credible Coverage that includes contraception, IVF, and abortion? People in Massachusetts are all covered for all that stuff whether they are on a company plan, an individual plan, or on free MassHealth. We can’t get out of it. She’s fear mongering by suggesting this affects the people of Massachusetts.
Yes, I agree completely.
It’s so wonderful here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that none of us are planning to move to another state. In fact, we don’t even know people in other states. Ms. Warren is clearly fear-mongering by talking about things that only concern Other People about whom we couldn’t care less.