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.
Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) discussed the extreme Republican budget and the success of the Affordable Care Act on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" and Fox News' "Fox & Friends" this morning.
MESSAGE FROM THE DEMOCRATIC WHIP
This week, House Republicans unveiled their budget proposal for fiscal year 2015. Instead of laying being a serious and honest attempt to invest in our priorities and return our nation to fiscal sustainability, their budget is no more than an exercise in partisan messaging.
The previous speaker said that people were going to be forced to reduce hours.
“Today’s news that over 7 million Americans have signed up for private health insurance plans during the Affordable Care Act’s open enrollment season confirm that the law is working
MESSAGE FROM THE DEMOCRATIC WHIP
On Monday I gave a speech, hosted by Third Way, on the need to continue to work to put our nation on a fiscally sustainable path. I talked about several items Congress can take action on this year to make progress toward this goal; you can find a full video of my speech here.
“More than six million Americans have now enrolled in private health insurance plans through the federal and state-based marketplaces, and there are still several days left for those who need affordable coverage to sign up.
"I thank the Gentleman for yielding. Perhaps we ought to have a criteria of everybody who has read this bill can vote on it.
“Today the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that I hope will determine once and for all that a woman’s health care decisions are nobody’s business but her own.
“Sunday marks four years since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, which is already helping millions of Americans gain access to quality, affordable health care
More than 5 million Americans have signed up for private health insurance plans through the federal and state marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act.