Rep. Engel Cosponsors Resolution to Overturn Trump’s Expansion of Junk Health Insurance Plans

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 -- Rep. Eliot L. Engel, D-New York, issued the following news release:

Congressman Eliot L. Engel has cosponsored a Congressional Review Act resolution, H.J. Res. 140, to overturn the Trump Administration's expansion of junk health insurance plans that would allow insurers to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.

The resolution, authored by Congresswoman Kathy Castor, would nullify a Trump Administration rule permitting the expansion of skimpy health plans. Such plans are not required to offer the consumer protections provided under the Affordable Care Act, such as those for Americans with pre-existing conditions.

"I refuse to stand idly by while the Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress lay waste to vital consumer protections," Engel said. "We cannot go back to a time when Americans could be forced to pay more for health care - or be denied it altogether - because they live with a condition like asthma or diabetes. Nor can we return to the days when plans were free to exclude needed benefits, like maternity care. I am proud to join Congresswoman Castor in her effort to protect consumers from this dangerous Republican effort to turn back the clock on American families."