Rep. Horsford Votes to Lower Health Care Costs and Protect Care for Nevadans

WASHINGTON, June 30 -- Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nevada, issued the following news release:

Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04) voted to pass the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, H.R. 1425, legislation to provide necessary improvements to the Affordable Care Act and lower the cost of health care and prescription drug prices. The Congressman spoke in support of this legislation on the floor of the House of Representatives.

"In the middle of the historic health and financial security crisis of the coronavirus pandemic, especially in my home state of Nevada that has suffered the most debilitating economic impact, affordable health care is more important than ever," Congressman Horsford said. "Today, I cast my vote to further safeguard the protections in the Affordable Care Act and lower health care and prescription drug costs for all Americans. I will continue to stand firm against those who would recklessly rip away every last benefit and protection that the law provides in the middle of a pandemic."

The passage of this legislation comes on the heels of the Trump Administration's petition of the Supreme Court to strike down every protection and benefit of the Affordable Care Act. Congressman Horsford released a new report (https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/healthcare/news/2020/06/24/486768/health-care-repeal-lawsuit-strip-coverage-23-million-americans/) finding that such a ruling would cause 23 million Americans, including 309,000 Nevadans to lose their health insurance.

The bill significantly increases the ACA's affordability subsidies to be more generous and cover more middle-class families. For the first time, no person will have to pay more than 8.5 percent of their income for a benchmark silver plan in the ACA marketplaces, and many Americans will see their premiums cut in half or more:

* A family of four earning $40,000 would save nearly $1,600 in premiums each year.

* A 64-year-old earning $57,420 would save more than $8,700 in premiums each year.

* A single adult with an income of $31,900 would see premiums cut in half.

* An adult earning $19,140 would see premiums cut to zero, saving $800 dollars a year.

The bill negotiates for lower prescription drug prices, delivering the power to negotiate lower drug prices so that Americans no longer have to pay more for our medicines than Big Pharma charges for the same drugs overseas.

The bill expands coverage, pressing Medicaid expansion hold-out states with new carrots and sticks to adopt coverage for the 4.8 million Americans cruelly excluded from coverage, while restoring the outreach and advertising funding that the Trump Administration has slashed to prevent Americans from learning about the affordable health coverage available to them under the ACA.

The bill combats inequity in health coverage faced by communities of color, expanding more affordable coverage to vulnerable populations and fighting the maternal mortality epidemic by requiring states to extend Medicaid or CHIP coverage to new mothers for a full year postpartum.

The bill cracks down on junk plans & strengthens protections for people with pre-existing conditions, reversing the Trump Administration's expansion of junk health insurance plans that do not provide coverage for essential medical treatments and drugs and that are allowed to discriminate against people with pre-existing medical conditions.

A fact sheet on the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act is available here (https://energycommerce.house.gov/sites/democrats.energycommerce.house.gov/files/documents/Affordable%20Care%20Enhancement%20Act%20-%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf).

Video of the Congressman's speech can be watched and downloaded here (https://www.dropbox.com/s/9zdgc2y6pzhp5ej/ACA%20Enhancement%20Floor%20Speech.mov?dl=0).