9/23 Letters: Graham-Cassidy health care ‘targets’ women

Regarding “GOP’s new repeal bill would likely leave millions more uninsured, analyses suggest” (Sept. 20): I was flabbergasted when I read about the Cassidy-Graham health care bill. The Cassidy-Graham bill is as terrible as other ACA repeal bills. It would end Medicaid’s guarantee of coverage for children, seniors and people with disabilities by taking coverage from up to 1.9 million North Carolinians and would cripple our state’s budget. It also would be particularly devastating to lower-income women.

For uninsured women in North Carolina, the cost is a major barrier – nearly 64 percent of uninsured women have faced cost as an obstacle when seeking care, compared to only 27 percent of insured women. Uninsured women also utilize preventive services at lower rates. Only 49 percent of uninsured women in North Carolina received a recommended mammogram compared to 77 percent of insured women. Medicaid cuts will mean that lower-income uninsured women are more likely to go without care and less likely to have a regular source of care and utilize preventive services.

In addition, Cassidy-Graham specifically targets access to women’s health care services by barring states from reimbursing Planned Parenthood for preventive health and family planning services for Medicaid recipients. As an African-American mother of two young daughters, I strongly oppose this latest assault on health and safety.

Continue Iran deal

Regarding “Tillerson won’t disclose Trump’s Iran decision” (Sept. 20): President Trump’s threat to back out of the Iran deal would be the height of irresponsibility. It has stopped Iran from continuing its nuclear arms program. No lives have been lost and according to the monitoring, Iran is keeping its side of the agreement.

Of course it is still a bad actor in its support of terrorism. Of course Iran’s human rights history is not according to our wishes. The Iran nuclear agreement, however, was not meant to address these. We as a nation cannot legislate human rights for another sovereign nation. Our nuclear agreement with Iran should continue.

‘Do as I do’

In “Change in principal pay spurs fear of salary cuts” (Sept. 16), state Sen. Jerry Tillman (R) said the lawmakers “believe in paying for performance.” Perhaps that same standard should apply to the lawmakers themselves. The legislators from smaller districts should receive less salary, and the ineffective ones should have their salaries reduced, in some cases to zero. How about the adage, “Do as I do, not as I say.”

This story was originally published September 22, 2017 at 6:00 PM with the headline "9/23 Letters: Graham-Cassidy health care ‘targets’ women."