Dr. Andy Harris Votes in Favor of American Health Care Act

WASHINGTON, May 4 -- Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., issued the following news release:

On May 4, Dr. Andy Harris (MD-01) voted in favor of the H.R. 1628, the American Health Care Act (AHCA). The bill was passed by the House of Representatives by a vote of 217-213. Dr. Harris released the following statement following the passage of the bill:

"The Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") has resulted in skyrocketing health insurance prices, a diminishing choice of providers, and in some areas a dwindling to no choice of health insurance plans. That is why I voted in favor of legislation that will immediately lower premiums and begin to fix our broken health insurance system.

Unfortunately, there has been significant misinformation about this bill. So I want to be clear that the AHCA explicitly maintains, and even adds, protections for pre-existing conditions. The bill makes clear that under no circumstance can people be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. Guaranteed issue of coverage, guaranteed renewability of coverage, and the prohibition on insurance companies denying coverage due to a pre-existing condition are all maintained. The bill does not change Medicare benefits or impact the Medicare drug benefit.

The bill will permit states a limited waiver for using health status to adjust costs for some customers if, and only if, a high risk pool, risk sharing, or reinsurance mechanism is instituted to ensure affordable coverage. This is exactly what Maryland did prior to the ACA through the Maryland Health Insurance Program - a program that successfully ensured affordable coverage and benefits for people with medical conditions, while lowering premium costs in the regular health insurance market.

This week, the Maryland Insurance Administration announced that the state's largest Obamacare insurer is seeking a 53-62% increase to premiums for their silver level health insurance plan--the state's most popular insurance plan. Since 2014, Marylanders have seen unsustainable and skyrocketing premiums, and some rates will have more than tripled. As Obamacare fails, insurers are leaving the market, and consumers are left with few options for affordable coverage. On the Eastern Shore, there are currently only two insurance options available, and there is no HMO insurance plan available.

I voted in favor of the American Health Care Act today to strengthen health insurance coverage for every person in Maryland's First Congressional District, while lowering their health insurance costs."