House Passes Shaheen Legislation to Restore Funding for Affordable Care Act Health Insurance Marketplace Advertising

Targeted News Service (Press Releases)

WASHINGTON, May 16 -- Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, issued the following news release:

Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) issued the following statement after the House of Representatives passed a robust health care package including companion legislation to Shaheen's Marketing and Outreach Restoration to Empower (MORE) Health Education Act of 2019. Shaheen's bill counteracts the Trump administration's sabotage efforts that have diverted funds and slashed health care enrollment advertising, marketing and education efforts by 90 percent since the President took office. The MORE Health Education Act requires the Trump administration to fully fund outreach, marketing and education efforts to promote health insurance coverage offered on the federal Health Insurance Marketplace established by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-MD) has led the effort in the House of Representatives and saw the bill's inclusion in the health care packaged passed by the House this afternoon.

"Majority Leader McConnell should take up this legislation immediately so Congress can begin to repair the damage caused by the administration's incessant sabotage of the health care reform law," said Shaheen. "This legislation would lower costs, expand access to quality health care and address a myriad of problems impacting our health care system, many of which are caused or exacerbated by the administration's cynical attacks on our health care system. I appreciate Congresswoman Blunt Rochester's leadership in the House to include our bill in this health care package so Congress can finally restore the funding for marketing and education on health insurance enrollment that was cut by the Trump administration. It's past time Republican leadership in the Senate put partisan obstruction aside and begin working across the aisle to deliver more affordable health care to the American people."

The House-passed health care package includes a number of pieces of legislation that would provide ACA stabilization in response to the President's relentless attacks to sabotage the health care law, and would also address skyrocketing prescription drug prices through the inclusion of common-sense bipartisan legislation like the CREATES Act, of which Shaheen is a cosponsor. Last week, the House passed Representative Annie Kuster's (NH-02) companion legislation to Senator Shaheen's Protecting Americans with Pre-existing Conditions Act, which would prevent the Trump administration from promoting "junk" health insurance plans that lack protections for people with pre-existing conditions and would increase costs for millions of Americans.

Senator Shaheen has led efforts in the Senate to stabilize the health insurance markets and make health care more affordable and accessible for all Americans. She recently introduced a health care affordability package that would expand access to quality, affordable health care and critical medical services, and introduced a resolution supported by every Senate Democrat directing the Trump administration to halt its efforts to strike down the Affordable Care Act in federal court. Earlier this month, Shaheen worked with Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Diane Feinstein (D-CA) to introduce the Choose Medicare Act, which would give individuals who are not already eligible for Medicaid or Medicare the opportunity to enroll in new "Medicare Part E" coverage.

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