Darin LaHood, Cheri Bustos weigh in on the American Health Care Act

March 21--PEORIA -- As Congress appears split down party lines on the new legislation, central Illinois' Republican and Democratic representatives weigh in on the pros and cons of the American Health Care Act.

In the 18th Congressional District, represented by Rep. Darin LaHood, a Peoria Republican, about 35,000 people gained coverage under the Affordable Care Act -- just over 24,000 through the Medicaid expansion and an additional 11,000 who purchased insurance through the exchange according to the Illinois Health and Hospital Association.

At the same time, premiums have increased, on average, 50.3 percent, LaHood said, and some counties in the district have only one insurance option. He also hinted at pending amendments that Republican leadership have said should be included to protect older Americans, though the specifics of such an amendment have not been discussed publicly.

"As legislators, we have an obligation to the American people to repeal and replace this failing health care law with a patient-centered system that allows for more competition and provides better access to care at lower costs. The cost of health care has skyrocketed and choices for quality care have quickly diminished," LaHood said in a written statement. "The goal of this legislation is to make our health care system more cost effective and specific to what patients need both now and in the future. In addition, this legislation includes provisions from our current health care system that protect pre-existing conditions and allow parents to keep children on their health plans. While the bill continues to be amended and debated this week, I continue to welcome feedback from my constituents and look forward to working with my colleagues to improve America's health care system."

More than 50,000 people in the 17th Congressional District, represented by Moline Democrat Cheri Bustos, are covered by the ACA. Nearly 40,000 of those are covered by expanded Medicaid programs, which would be cut under the Republican replacement, the American Health Care Act.

"During the campaign, President Trump promised he would never cut Medicaid -- and with the non-partisan report from the Congressional Budget Office, he has officially broken that promise by cutting nearly $1 trillion from this vital lifeline for seniors, children with disabilities and pregnant women. Illinois alone stands to lose $40 billion under the Washington Republicans' plan, throwing almost one million Illinoisans off of their insurance plans and raising costs for enrollees by nearly $5,000," according to a written statement by Bustos, a vocal and consistent critic of the bill.

She continued, "For nearly seven years, Washington Republicans have hidden their health care repeal plan because they knew it would lead to higher costs, worse care and less coverage for millions of Americans. In addition to making devastating cuts to Medicaid, we also know that 24 million Americans will lose their health care coverage under this plan, all so Washington Republicans can give the wealthiest Americans billions of dollars in tax breaks. We need to work together to lower out-of-pocket costs and bring down prescription drug prices, but this 'Pay More For Less' bill would take us in the wrong direction by hurting seniors, children and hard-working families."

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