Health Care
House Democrats are committed to expanding access to quality, affordable health care coverage, strengthening protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and lowering prescription drug prices and the cost of health care overall.
Under President Biden and Congressional Democrats, the uninsured rate is at an all-time low. While Republicans vote against legislation to lower health care costs, House Democrats are working to bring down the overall costs of health care and increase access to health care coverage.
With the landmark Inflation Reduction Act, House Democrats took direct action to reduce health care costs for millions of Americans. For the first time, Medicare will be able to negotiate prescription drug prices for high-cost drugs. The law also caps out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for Medicare recipients at $2,000 annually and establishes a $35 cap for a month’s supply of insulin. The Inflation Reduction Act also protects progress made under President Biden to expand access to quality, affordable health care coverage by continuing the expanded premium tax credits originally passed in the American Rescue Plan, which lowered health care premiums for millions of working families.
This built upon the Affordable Care Act – enacted by President Obama and Congressional Democrats in 2010 – that has put American families in control of their own health care and ended a system that put profits ahead of patients. Since its enactment, 35 million Americans have gained access to quality, affordable health coverage. Americans with pre-existing conditions can no longer be discriminated against by insurance companies. Parents can now keep their children on their insurance plans up to age twenty-six. Insurance companies are no longer allowed to put annual or lifetime limits on coverage or drop people when they get sick. Additionally, thanks to the law, Medicare costs – from premiums and deductibles to overall program spending – have slowed to well below the levels projected before the law passed.
These reforms were crucial, especially when the COVID-19 pandemic struck but more action was needed. That’s why House Democrats worked to enact legislation right away - without any Republican support - to ensure that testing, treatment, and vaccinations for COVID-19 would be covered with no out-of-pocket costs to Americans.
House Democrats remain committed to the goal of affordable, accessible health care for all.
I am pleased to welcome Miss Ojewumi as my guest for tomorrow evening’s joint address to Congress
The budget proposals released by the Trump Administration today double-down on the rejection of math, economics, and common sense that made Republican budgets unrealistic and ill-conceived over the last several years.
The leaked draft of House Republicans’ reconciliation bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act is so glaringly dangerous that even the Republican-controlled Senate would be unlikely to pass it.
... we see a headline like this: GOP Congressman Says A Drop In The Number Of Insured People Could Be "A Good Thing"
It’s been a long week for Republican Members of Congress, as constituents continue to speak out against their efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act without a real plan to replace it.
Today’s Republican Quote of the Day comes from former Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH), who confirmed what we already knew: Republicans won't be able to pass a real plan to replace the Affordable Care Act. From Politico:
Today, as we recognize a National Day of Action to protect the Affordable Care Act, I was pleased to meet with a diverse, energetic group of people in Southern Maryland that is becoming more involved in government and politics.
This week, I was deeply alarmed by actions taken by the White House that put the interests of Russia ahead of the interests of the United States.
With Republicans controlling the White House and both chambers of Congress, they are fully responsible for what happens to America’s health care system.
By distributing a briefing packet to their Members on how to convince Americans of the supposed merits of repealing of the Affordable Care Act, House Republican leaders are signaling dangerous uncertainty to insurers and health care consumers.