Courtney Statement On Republican House Members Voting To Repeal The Affordable Care Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. --Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) made the following statement after Republicans passed a repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on a party-line vote of 217-213.

"Just one month ago, Paul Ryan pulled the GOP healthcare bill minutes before a scheduled vote because support had collapsed in the face of vehement opposition from organizations such as the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association, the American Cancer Society, the Heart Association, the Lung Association, doctors and nurses," said Courtney. "The groups denounced this bill after the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office found it would eliminate healthcare coverage for 24 million Americans.

"Today, Paul Ryan brought the bill back with changes to placate the most extreme elements of his party that in the words of the American Hospital Association will make 'a bad bill even worse.' The revised bill weakens protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and dismantles requirements that health insurance plans must cover maternity care, mental health services, addiction treatment, emergency room care, and bans on lifetime limits for coverage, just to name a few. The bill still raids the Medicare trust fund, rolls back Medicaid, and raises premiums on Americans over the age of 50.

"For those who frustrated with weaknesses in the existing law - this bill does nothing to address those and in fact greatly exacerbates them. I implore the Senate to scuttle this deeply flawed measure and give us the opportunity to enact real fixes to the healthcare system that Congress can consider on a bipartisan basis."

Statement from health groups opposing the Republican measure:

American Medical Association: https://www.ama-assn.org/ama-urges-congress-oppose-amended-health-care-reform-bill

"The credits proposed under the AHCA are significantly less generous for those with the greatest need than provided under current law. The reduced purchasing power with the AHCA tax credits will put insurance coverage out of reach for millions of Americans."

Catholic Health Association of the United States: https://www.chausa.org/newsroom/news-releases/2017/04/26/proposed-house-action-threatens-health-coverage-for-millions

"It is critically important to look at this bill for what it is. It is not in any way a health care bill. Rather, it is legislation whose aim is to take significant funding allocated by Congress for health care for very low income people and use that money for tax cuts for some of our wealthiest citizens. This is contrary to the spirit of who we are as a nation, a giant step backward that should be resisted."

American Cancer Society: https://filemanager.capwiz.com/filemanager/file-mgr/cancerorg/AHCA_MacArthur_Pre_ex_fact_sheet_FINAL_5_2_17__Final.pdf

"The Amendment could undo several key protections that are critical for cancer patients and survivors - including the prohibition on pre-existing condition exclusions."

American Academy of Family Physicians: http://www.aafp.org/dam/AAFP/documents/advocacy/campaigns/LT-Budget-AHCA-031317.pdf

"We believe that pending legislation proposals would dramatically increase costs for older individuals, result in millions of people losing their health care coverage, and return to a system that allows for discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions."

Children's Hospital Association: https://www.childrenshospitals.org/newsroom/press-releases/2017/childrens-hospitals-reject-ahca

"The legislation the House is scheduled to consider is a national threat to children's health care"

American Society of Clinical Oncology: https://filemanager.capwiz.com/filemanager/file-mgr/asco/ASCO_AHCA_Opposition_Letter_4.27.17.pdf

"The AHCA as currently constructed will create or worsen these barriers to care. It will add costs to the system, decrease access to appropriate treatment and increase existing disparities in care."

Consumers Union: http://consumersunion.org/research/ahca-gets-a-failing-grade/

"We analyzed the American Health Care Act (AHCA) and have assigned it a failing grade. As proposed, the bill would lead to tens of millions of consumers losing their insurance coverage (with poorer health outcomes and more premature deaths as a result), higher premiums, deductibles and out-of-pocket costs for many others, devastating cuts to Medicaid, and incentives for healthy people to stay out of the insurance market altogether. This is not the future that Americans deserve and is, simply, unacceptable."

AARP: http://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/politics/advocacy/2017/03/aarp-letter-to-congress-on-american-healthcare-act-march-07-2017.pdf

"This bill would weaken Medicare's fiscal sustainability, dramatically increase health care costs for Americans aged 50-64, and put at risk the health care of millions of children and adults with disabilities, and poor seniors who depend on the Medicaid program for longterm services and supports and other benefits."

American Public Health Association: https://www.apha.org/news-and-media/news-releases/apha-news-releases/2017/house-plan-to-repeal-aca-jeopardizes-lives

"This proposal would jeopardize the health and lives of many millions of Americans"

Easter Seals: https://filemanager.capwiz.com/filemanager/file-mgr/easterseals/Easterseals_Opposes_Amended_AHCA.pdf

"Easter seals opposes the AHCA because of its treatment of Medicaid and other provisions that limit access to essential services for people with disabilities"

Read this original document at: https://courtney.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/courtney-statement-republican-house-members-voting-repeal-affordable