House Majority Leader Hoyer, Rep. Shalala Host Roundtable on Protecting and Expanding the Affordable Care Act

MIAMI, Florida, Oct. 10 -- Rep. Donna Shalala, D-Florida, issued the following news release:

Today, Rep. Donna Shalala (FL-27) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (MD-5) hosted a roundtable discussion with health insurers, providers, and stakeholders to discuss how to build upon the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to expand and increase health care benefits, while lowering costs and improving outcomes for the American people.

"President Trump and his Republican allies have been attacking the ACA from the moment it was signed into law," said Donna Shalala. "The President has taken this fight to the Supreme Court again because he and his party want to take away the ACA's affordable health care coverage and pre-existing condition protections from tens of millions of Americans - and over 332,000 in my district - without a plan to improve or replace it. We're gathered here today because the ACA works, Americans like it, and we are committed to doing everything we can in Congress to protect, expand, and improve it."

"Since day one of the Democratic Majority, House Democrats have worked to defend the Affordable Care Act from the Administration's efforts to undermine the law and have passed legislation to protect and expand access to affordable, quality coverage," said Leader Hoyer. "As a former Secretary of Health and Human Services, Rep. Shalala brings a unique and helpful perspective to our work to defend the law and make quality health care more affordable and accessible, including by lowering prescription drug costs. I thank her for her leadership on this issue and for hosting this roundtable today."

Since being signed into law almost ten years ago, the Affordable Care Act has expanded health insurance coverage, guaranteed essential protections for all Americans, and increased innovation in health care. This term, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear oral arguments in a lawsuit brought by 18 Republican state attorneys general - including Ashley Moody of Florida - that could strip more than 20 million people of health coverage provided by the ACA, eliminate protections for people with preexisting conditions, and disrupt the U.S. health care system which comprises nearly one-fifth of the nation's economy.