Schakowsky Statement on new Obamacare Reports

Chicago- This morning, Rep. Jan Schakowsky issued the following statement on two new reports that detail the importance of the Affordable Care Act:

"In the last week, two new reports have come out demonstrating how valuable the Affordable Care Act is to Americans. The ACA can be improved. I have been urging the Illinois Insurance Commissioner and insurers in our state to make changes that would lower premiums and provide greater choices of doctors and hospitals. In Congress, I am the sponsor of legislation to add a public option - a more affordable choice. However, we must build on the Obamacare foundation, not as President-elect Trump and my Republican colleagues propose, repeal its many protections. There is increasing evidence of law's many benefits and the chaos and great harm that would occur without it.

This week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released state-specific information about the different ways in which Americans have benefitted from Obamacare. Last week, the Urban Institute detailed exactly how much Americans stand to lose if Republicans go through with their threats to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

The new report from HHS shows that in Illinois alone, nearly one million people have gained coverage because of Obamacare. This means that the rate of uninsured individuals has been cut in half since Obamacare began in 2010. And that's not all -the quality of coverage has been improved significantly. Among other things, in Illinois Obamacare has eliminated pre-existing condition exclusions for 5.6 million people, lowered drug costs for 2.1 million seniors and people with disabilities on Medicare, and ensures that women aren't charged more for their health insurance. It put an end to the lifetime and annual limits that 4.6 million Illinoisans had in their insurance plans. It makes sure that insurance companies spend at least 80% of the money they receive from premiums on healthcare costs. If the companies fail to do so, they must refund consumers. As a result, Illinoisans with employer coverage have received $11.3 million in refunds in the last four years.

In contrast to the progress that the report from HHS outlines, the report from the Urban Institute takes a terrifying look at what Americans stand to lose from the repeal of Obamacare. If Republicans carry out their plan to repeal the ACA, 30 million people across the country would lose health coverage, 1.2 million of whom live in Illinois. The number of uninsured children would more than double, reaching a country-wide total of 4 million. Repealing the ACA would also erase the progress that we have made to improve insurance plans. Insurance companies could once again drive premium prices up without improving care, discriminate against individuals with pre-existing conditions, leave Americans out in the cold once they reached their benefit limits, and charge women more than men for their healthcare.

The Affordable Care Act is not perfect. But it has allowed millions of previously uninsured Americans to obtain insurance without fear that their insurance company can cancel their plan at any time. Repealing it without a plan to replace it, which is exactly what Republicans in Congress plan to do, is reckless and life-threatening to the millions of working families that depend on it. These two reports demonstrate how far we've come because of Obamacare, and how far we'd fall if we lost it. I call on Republicans to look at the numbers and remember that behind every statistic is an American who faces the very real possibility of losing insurance coverage. Health care is a human right, and we cannot allow Republicans to undo the important progress that we've made."

Read this original document at: https://schakowsky.house.gov/press-releases/schakowsky-statement-on-new-obamacare-reports/