Protesters Of New Health Care Plan Stage 'Die In'
DENVER (CBS4) - The health care insurance plan being labeled by some as "Trumpcare" is being scrutinized and criticized.
Outside the office of Colorado U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman protesters carried signs on Tuesday.
"Let us know how much it's going to cost, who is going to lose insurance," Kristin Mallory of Aurora said.
They fear reductions in federal dollars to Medicaid support for Colorado and wonder how that will affect coverage.
A spokesman for Coffman, a Republican, told CBS4 he is reviewing the bill, but is happy it would cover those with pre-existing conditions and those under 26.
Under the so-called Obamacare, Connect for Health Colorado currently offers insurance for some 180,000 Coloradans. Luke Clarke is a spokesman for the program.
"Would Connect for Health Colorado still be around under this bill?" CBS4's Rick Sallinger asked Clarke.
"We certainly could be. We are functioning as a shopping portal where customers can compare their choices side by side," Clarke replied.
He says it would be able to administer the tax credit program outlined in the new bill.
The American Health Care Act, as it is officially called, was touted on Wednesday by President Donald Trump's press secretary, Sean Spicer.
"By removing the government mandate that you must buy this program or you will pay a penalty, and eliminating choice, we are enacting … very strong conservative values in health care that give all Americans more choice at a lower cost," Spicer said in a press briefing.
But that's not those opposed see it. To dramatize their point, the protesters at Coffman's Aurora office staged what they called a "die in." Among them was Paul Hedquist who was laying on the ground explained.
"I am representing the people who will die who lose access to health care," he said.
CBS4's Rick Sallinger is a Peabody award winning reporter who has been with the station more than two decades doing hard news and investigative reporting. Follow him on Twitter @ricksallinger.