Rep. Shea-Porter Statement on Updated Estimate of Coverage Losses Under Republican Health Care Bill

WASHINGTON, May 24 -- Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, D-N.H., issued the following news release:

Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01) released the following statement after the independent, nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its updated analysis of the American Health Care Act (AHCA). Earlier this month, House Republicans made last-minute changes to the bill and passed it without a CBO estimate:

"Today's estimate by the independent Congressional Budget Office confirms that the health care repeal bill Republicans pushed through the House earlier this month would kick a devastating number of Americans - 23 million people - off of their coverage, strip protections from people with pre-existing conditions, and raise their premiums.

"This estimate caps off a disturbing week where President Trump proposed devastating cuts to Medicaid, children's health care coverage, and Social Security disability insurance, while continuing to destabilize insurance markets by denying insurers certainty about whether his Administration will honor its obligations. President Trump has broken his promise of 'insurance for everybody.'"

BACKGROUND

Before she voted "no" on the AHCA, Shea-Porter spoke on the House floor in opposition, saying:

"I oppose this cruel bill on behalf of my constituents, especially those it would hurt the most: people with pre-existing conditions, older Americans, veterans, and lower-income people. If this bill passes, we will go back to the days when people with pre-existing conditions could be denied coverage or charged more, when insurers could decide whether or not to cover basic care like hospitalization, and when sick babies might hit their insurer's lifetime coverage limit before they could even walk.

"Under this bill, older Americans will pay more. In fact, Americans aged 50-64 would pay premiums five times higher than others. Veterans will lose access to tax credits that make private coverage affordable. And lower-income people will be hurt. Taking away Medicaid expansion would put affordable coverage out of reach for millions, and set us back in the fight against the heroin, fentanyl, and opioid crisis.

"Instead of this cruel bill, let's come together to improve health care, not take health insurance from millions just to give tax cuts to the wealthiest."