Statement of Stacey D. Stewart, President, March of Dimes on the defeat of health care reform legislation in the U.S. Senate

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Jul 28, 2017, 09:46 ET

WASHINGTON, July 28, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The March of Dimes released the following statement from President Stacey D. Stewart regarding the defeat of health care reform legislation in the Senate overnight:

"The March of Dimes is profoundly relieved that a range of health care reform proposals have been rejected by the U.S. Senate over the past two days. We commend all the Senators who cast principled votes opposing policies that would have caused millions of Americans to lose coverage, and millions more to find themselves with more expensive, less adequate health plans that jeopardized their health and economic wellbeing.

"According to the Congressional Budget Office, the various proposals before the Senate would have caused millions of Americans to become uninsured. The March of Dimes estimated that, for Medicaid expansion rollback alone, up to 6.5 million women of childbearing age would have lost coverage. For millions more, pregnancy coverage would have become an expensive added charge, and out-of-pocket costs would have been unlimited. For many families, this would mean that a high-risk pregnancy or preterm baby needing weeks or months of neonatal intensive care could bankrupt them, or force them to make untenable choices between their health and financial viability. Clearly, these proposals would not have advanced our mission of ensuring that all women can have healthy pregnancies and healthy babies.

"Now the real work lies before us. The March of Dimes stands ready to work with all lawmakers to develop meaningful legislation that addresses the flaws in our health care system. We agree that our health care system and the laws that govern it are far from perfect, and many opportunities exist to find areas of common ground to make improvements. The March of Dimes hopes that real health care reform can arise from the ashes of last night's vote."

About March of Dimes
The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. For more than 75 years, moms and babies have benefited from March of Dimes research, education, vaccines, and breakthroughs.

For the latest resources and health information, visit our websites marchofdimes.org and nacersano.org. To participate in our annual signature fundraising event, visit marchforbabies.org. If you have been affected by prematurity or birth defects, visit our shareyourstory.org community to find comfort and support. For detailed national, state and local perinatal statistics, visit persistats.org. You can also find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

SOURCE March of Dimes