Lipinski: Republican Healthcare Bill Stopped; Time for Real Fixes for Middle Class

WASHINGTON, March 29 -- Rep. Daniel Lipinski, D-Ill., issued the following statement:

"Today, I was going to vote against the House Republican healthcare bill, the American Health Care Act (AHCA). For seven years I have fought to make fixes to the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) to make it work better for America's middle-class families, but I have consistently opposed repeal without a better replacement. Unfortunately, this replacement would have made our healthcare system significantly worse, harming tens of millions of Americans, including some of our most vulnerable. It is good for the American people that this bill has been stopped.

"The Congressional Budget Office analysis indicates that 24 million fewer Americans would have health insurance under the AHCA and out-of-pocket costs would go up significantly for older Americans. Further last-minute changes made in the middle of last night mean that Americans' insurance coverage would be worse. On top of all this, the bill repeals a cap on the amount a health insurance company can deduct from their taxes for the compensation of executives, resulting in a transfer of $400 million from American taxpayers to these companies and executives. I offered an amendment to strike this provision of the bill on behalf of American taxpayers, but Republicans would not even allow a vote on my amendment.

"It's time for Republicans to sit down with Democrats and make the fixes to our healthcare system that will help rein in the costs of healthcare and expand coverage without diminishing care. The American people want politicians to stop playing politics with their healthcare and start problem-solving; it is about time Washington listens."

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