Ben Cline votes against helping babies with birth defects and sides with insurance companies

On April 4 2022 Virginia 6th Congressional District Republican Representative Ben Cline voted NO against passing the Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act. This bill requires private health insurance plans to cover diagnosis and treatment of congenital anomalies and birth defects, such as reconstructive services and items. This would include congenital defects such as cleft lip and cleft palate.

The CDC says that “children with a cleft lip with or without a cleft palate or a cleft palate alone often have problems with feeding and speaking clearly and can have ear infections. They also might have hearing problems and problems with their teeth.”

You can read more about these birth defects at https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/birthdefects/cleftlip.html

You can read the actual bill at https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1916/text

Early corrective action for these problems can help affected children lead a normal life.

This is another example of Ben Cline siding with the rich and powerful against his most vulnerable constituents - babies and their parents.