Rep. Engel Helps Pass Bill to Strengthen Obamacare

WASHINGTON, July 1 -- Rep. Eliot Engel, D-New York, issued the following news release:

Congressman Eliot L. Engel helped pass the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act, H.R. 1425, which would strengthen Obamacare--better known as the Affordable Care Act--and lower the cost of prescription drugs by allowing the federal government to negotiate drug prices.

"The Trump-led Republican assault on Obamacare continues, even in the midst of a global pandemic. But we know that access to high-quality, affordable health care is a basic human right," said Rep. Engel. "I am proud to have helped write and pass Obamacare, which allowed nearly 100,000 of my constituents to gain high-quality health coverage. H.R. 1425 will build on the success of Obamacare by helping bring an end to the prescription drug price epidemic and undoing the Trump Administration's efforts to gut this successful law."

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act includes the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drugs Costs Now Act, which empowers the federal government to negotiate prescription drug prices. The savings generated by the drug price negotiations will be used to expand Obamacare's programs that help American families purchase high-quality health coverage. H.R. 1425 also includes incentives to encourage states to expand Medicaid, which will help families that they may have lost their job-based coverage due to the coronavirus pandemic. It also expands Medicaid and CHIP to cover services and treatments critical to curb rising rates of pregnancy-related deaths in the United States.