Karen Battaglia is a nurse and one of the millions of Illinoisans living with a preexisting condition at risk of losing health care coverage under the Trump Administration

WASHINGTON--Today, Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14) announced that she will welcome Karen Battaglia, a nurse from Antioch, as her guest to the President's State of the Union address. Underwood selected Battaglia because of her service and dedication to providing care for underserved and vulnerable people in her community. In addition to being a nurse, Battaglia has a preexisting condition and is at risk of losing quality, affordable health care if the Trump Administration is successful in its efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

"I am so honored to have Karen join me as my guest to the State of the Union address," said Underwood. "Karen is a dedicated nurse who has spent her career working to improve the lives and health of northern Illinoisans. Her care and the care of her patients is under threat every day under this Administration. Karen's story is exactly why I'm working every day to lower health care costs for Illinoisans and safeguard protections for people with preexisting conditions."

For over 20 years, Battaglia has worked to improve the health and lives of thousands of people in her community as a nurse. Battaglia is the Trauma Coordinator for Emergency Services at Northwestern Medicine McHenry, where along with her work to save lives, she has worked to improve community safety through coordinating community programs like SAFE Kids, poison prevention workshops, and bicycle helmet fittings for children. Additionally, Karen is a member of Underwood's nursing advisory council. 2020 is the World Health Organization's "Year of the Nurse and Midwife."

Battaglia also lives with a preexisting condition, asthma. Battaglia and several members of her family are among the 5,417,600 Illinoisans--like Underwood-- that live with a preexisting condition and are at risk of losing their health care coverage if the Trump Administration succeeds in their relentless efforts to repeal the ACA. Battaglia has previously shared her story with Underwood discussing the challenges she faced to access care with a preexisting before the ACA. Under her employer-sponsored health care plan, she faced high out-of-pocket costs for asthma medications and maternity care. Battaglia emphasizes repealing the ACA would have devastating impacts for her, her sons, and grandson who also have asthma.

Photos of Battaglia can be found here https://www.dropbox.com/sh/m8h7hz3fydfdk13/AADcHkmTaLPyms3oQvFgjIJza?dl=0.

While the Administration has worked to weaken the ACA, Underwood has championed several bills to strengthen our current system by reducing health care costs. In March, Underwood introduced the Health Care Affordability Act to reduce premiums for consumers who purchase plans through the Health Insurance Marketplace. The Health Care Affordability Act (H.R. 1868) would expand tax credits to people who don't currently qualify for them because their income is higher than 400 percent of the federal poverty level, and would increase the size of the tax credit for all income brackets. In June, Underwood passed legislation as a part of the House appropriations package for Fiscal Year 2020 that would prevent the Department of Justice (DOJ) from spending federal funds on litigation that undermines the health care law, including Texas v. United States.

In Congress, Underwood has championed several bills to expand access to affordable, quality health care and protect Americans with preexisting conditions. In May, legislation Underwood introduced to help protect Americans with preexisting conditions passed the U.S. House of Representatives. The legislation, H.R. 1010, would overturn an Administration rule that expands short-term, limited-duration insurance, commonly known as "junk plans." The legislation followed action by the Administration that finalized a rule expanding short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans that do not have to offer patient protections like coverage for preexisting conditions or essential health benefits like maternity care, prescription drugs, and hospitalization that the ACA requires.

Read this original document at: https://underwood.house.gov/media/press-releases/underwood-bring-antioch-nurse-state-union-guest