EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Indiana clergy members and concerned Hoosiers protested President Trump’s and Rep. Braun’s support for stripping away protections for Hoosiers with pre-existing conditions outside of the President’s rally in Evansville today.

Rep. Braun and President Trump have both repeatedly supported efforts to dismantle coverage protections for the more than 1.1 million Hoosiers under 65 with a pre-existing condition. Most recently, Rep. Braun expressed support for an upcoming lawsuit joined by President Trump’s Department of Justice expressly designed to destroy these protections. If such protections were dismantled, insurance companies would once again be able to deny health care to Hoosiers with health issues like arthritis, diabetes, or a history of cancer purely because of their illness.

Recognizing the unpopularity – if not the immorality – of his attempts to dismantle protections for pre-existing conditions, Rep. Braun has taken to pretending that he supports keeping them. However, he can’t point to a single concrete plan he supports that would retain these protections. Meanwhile, he has supported every major GOP proposal over the past year that would end them, including the DOJ lawsuit.

Rep. Braun and President Trump have also both supported every other GOP attempt to sabotage or dismantle the health care system. That includes the 2017 House and Senate bills that would have raised health care costs for the average Hoosier by $1,000 every year, gutted HIP 2.0, and eradicated protections for pre-existing conditions.

“Tonight’s event is just another reminder that we can’t have public officials who just march in lockstep with the GOP on every proposal to raise Hoosiers’ health care costs or even dismantle their protections for pre-existing conditions,” said Associate Pastor JillAnn Knonenberg, an Evansville resident. “Hoosiers want a senator who will bring common sense to Washington and protect access to affordable health care for every Hoosier.”

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