FACT CHECK: Kemp Opposed Guaranteed Coverage for Pre-Existing Conditions

Kemp’s newest ad cannot hide his ugly track record of opposing guaranteed coverage for pre-existing conditions

ATLANTA – Brian Kemp has a new ad claiming that he supports coverage for pre-existing conditions. There’s just one problem: His ad isn’t true.

As a state senator, Kemp voted for SB 174, a bill that allowed insurance companies to deny guaranteed coverage for pre-existing conditions. If passed, the bill could have left children suffering from asthma without access to inhalers, women without access to mastectomies and contraception, and Georgians of all stripes without access to certain anti-cancer drug therapy or substance abuse treatment. The bill even went so far as to remove guaranteed coverage for children with autism.

The bill was so radical that Republican State Senator Seth Harp described it as “a stinking dead horse” and Republican State Senator Renee Unterman said, “It’s a shame for Republican men to be in here doing this.” [AJC, 3/12/2005]

In addition to voting against guaranteed coverage for pre-existing conditions, Brian Kemp has been a longtime opponent of the Affordable Care Act, which guarantees coverage for pre-existing conditions.

Kemp also continues to oppose expanding Medicaid in the state, which would provide coverage to nearly 500,000 Georgians, create more than 50,000 jobs, and help save rural hospitals. While thirty-three states across the U.S. have expanded Medicaid as part of the Affordable Care Act, Georgia is not one of them, and as a result, Georgia ranks near the bottom-tier of states by many healthcare measures.

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