Rep. Doyle Votes Against Trumpcare Bill

WASHINGTON, May 4 -- Rep. Michael F. Doyle, D-Pa., issued the following news release:

Congressman Doyle (D-PA-14) spoke against HR 1628, the American Health Care Act, during its House consideration this afternoon, and he voted against it at the end of the debate.

"Today we all get a chance to go on record about where we stand on this shameful, cruel bill," Congressman Doyle said on the House Floor. "This creates a survival of the fittest health care for America. If you are young, if you are healthy, if you are wealthy, this bill's for you; you're going to do okay. But woe, if you are old, if you are sick, if you are poor, there's no coverage in this bill for you. If you've got a young child with cancer, guess what? Those benefits aren't going to be paid. The American people will remember how you voted on this bill today."

"24 million Americans are going to lose their insurance if this bill becomes law." Congressman Doyle observed. "$839 billion dollars gets cut out of the Medicaid program. The Essential Health Benefit Package in states is wiped out - in my state, it's taken care of people with mental illness and opioid addiction. Gone. This takes 117 billion dollars out of the Medicare Trust Fund. This is really a tax bill masquerading as a healthcare bill. The plan here is to take this money out of the healthcare system and use it for tax cuts."

HR 1628 was approved by the House on a vote of 217 to 213, with 217 Republicans voting for it, 20 Republicans voting against it, and 193 Democrats voting against it. The legislation must now be considered by the Senate.

"I will continue to fight against this cruel, misguided bill," Congressman Doyle said after the vote. "I will continue to work to fix the problems with the Affordable Care Act, not repeal it."