MINNEAPOLIS-Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) released the following statement after House Republicans passed the American Health Care Act:

"In their first major vote under President Trump, House Republicans pushed through a bill that will increase insurance premiums and deductibles, slash hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid, and leave millions of working people without affordable healthcare coverage - to finance a $1,000,000,000,000 tax cut for the top 2% of households. Everyday Americans will be forced to pick up this tab, and they'll pay for it with their health, their security, and in some cases, with their lives.

"Calling this bill the "American Health Care Act" is a cruel irony - 24 million Americans will likely lose their coverage. Hundreds of millions of people who get their insurance through their employer could see their plans slashed. Seniors and people with pre-existing conditions will be priced out of their insurance plans. And as many as one million Minnesotans who have received affordable care through the expansion of Medicaid, essential health benefits, or the exchange will be worse off.

"This vote is a message to every American who has ever struggled to pay for healthcare. For once, Republicans are being candid.

"To the expecting mother whose insurance won't pay for her maternity care and delivery because her state was granted a waiver on covering essential health benefits, Republicans say: perhaps you shouldn't have gotten pregnant.

"To the parents in Minneapolis working multiple minimum wage jobs with no employer health benefits and relying on Medicaid to pay for their children's checkups, Republicans say: you may have to choose between your children's health and paying your rent.

"To the person born with a chronic illness, like my constituent Michael, born without eyes, who relies on Medicaid to help him live in his community, Republicans say: pull yourself up by your bootstraps.

"And to every single Minnesotan who has gotten insurance because of the Affordable Care Act, Republicans say: if you can't afford to pay for health insurance yourself, you can't afford to live a healthy life.

"In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote about 'Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.' There's a reason life comes first. It's hard to experience liberty or enjoy the pursuit of happiness if you aren't healthy enough, or even alive, to do it.

"I've never thought healthcare should be a product to be bought and sold, taken for granted by some and out of reach for many, many others. Healthcare should be a right granted to every person. And while Republicans clearly don't agree, we won't stop fighting for working families - we never will."

Read this original document at: https://ellison.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-ellison-statement-on-republican-health-care-reform-bill

ST. LOUIS — Andrew C. Hubbard schemed with a cousin to give his mother laced drugs and cause an overdose so he could collect a $150,000 life insurance policy, prosecutors said in federal court Thursday.

The plan to lace crack cocaine with heroin or fentanyl didn't kill her, so the cousin shot the woman instead and dumped her body in a St. Louis alley, Hubbard admitted in U.S. District Court as he pleaded guilty.

Hubbard, 40, pleaded to murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire in connection with the death of his mother, Andreaia Worthem.

Worthem, 53, was shot in the chest, arm and face. Her body was found in the north alley in the 4400 block of Kennerly Avenue on the morning of July 7, 2023.

Others facing the same charges in connection with her death are the cousin, Eric Washington, 47, of Jennings; Justin R. Lee, 40, of Northwoods; and Hubbard's girlfriend, Kim Mosley, 33. Their cases are pending.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew A. Martin unveiled new details about the case as he read in court from a 14-page document.

Hubbard took out a life-insurance policy on his mother in 2019 and was the sole beneficiary.

His plan was to have Lee and Washington supply his mother with a "bad pack," crack cocaine laced with enough fentanyl to kill her, Martin said. Hubbard knew that his cousin had recently experienced a near-fatal overdose after ingesting drugs Lee had supplied.

In exchange, Washington would get $10,000, and Mosley would get $50,000, the prosecutor said.

Washington used Lee's phone to tell Hubbard, "It's done." Later, Hubbard asked if the "bad pack" caused a quick overdose. Washington admitted it didn't work, so he instead shot her, Martin said.

Mosley gave Washington $200 in exchange for the victim's cellphone, which was then destroyed, according to the plea agreement. Hubbard also gave Washington $450 cash and cocaine and marijuana, Martin said.

According to the plea agreement, Washington, impatient because he hadn't been paid the full $10,000, called Primerica, the insurance company, to ask when the policy would be paid.

Washington told the insurer that he had "done some work" for Hubbard and the insurance money would help cover what he is owed, the court document said.

When Hubbard found out Washington had made that call, he confronted his cousin and told him that it would lead the police to them.

The plea agreement didn't say whether Hubbard ever received the insurance money.

Hubbard, jailed in Illinois, lived in the 12200 block of Corrida Court in Maryland Heights.

U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey scheduled Hubbard's sentencing for Sept. 23.

Each charge is punishable by life in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Federal prosecutors already announced they would not seek the death penalty.

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