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.
“The fact of the matter is what the Supreme Court said today was the health care bill is constitutional. And therefore, Americans are going to have greater confidence that they're going to have access to affordable quality health care. Seniors are going to have prescription drugs they can afford, 26-year-olds or up to 26 will have insurance that they can rely on through their family if they're not employed and have their own insurance, [there] won't be lifetime caps on policies, and … insurance companies won't be in charge of [Americas’] right to get insurance, notwithstanding a pre-existing condition.”
The Supreme Court’s decision this morning reassured millions of American families that affording quality health care would no longer be an obstacle to receiving it.
Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele was on MSNBC this afternoon to talk about the Republican response strategy after the Supreme Court ruled the Affordable Care Act constitutional. Specifically, he discussed how Republicans still don’t have one, clinging instead to their “all repeal, no replace” health care strategy which has nothing to do with jobs.
From an interview on Hardball With Chris Matthews:
Our highest court has weighed in, and its decision to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a victory for all Americans who have ever worried about being able to access or afford the care they need. Democrats are proud to have worked hard to pass this landmark legislation in 2010 and of our efforts to make sure it is implemented in a way that continues to yield new benefits for patients, employers, and care providers.
Since the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010, Republicans have been working to repeal this landmark legislation and undo newfound patient protections and consumer freedoms. But while they insist on revoking this law, which has provided new benefits for patients, employers and care providers, Republican leaders have refused to offer an alternative solution. And according to Politico,
Funny how the closer we get to an election, the more vocal Republicans get in speaking out against their own Party’s budget plan introduced by Rep. Paul Ryan. The GOP’s draconian budget plan would end Medicare as we know it and slash the social safety net in order to provide tax breaks for the wealthiest among us. No wonder several prominent GOP members are already throwing the plan “under the bus.”
From Politico’s Huddle:
Here’s what House Republicans AREN’T doing this week – focusing on jobs and preventing student loan interest rates from doubling:
Wanted to be sure you saw this op-ed by Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer and Rep. Phil Roe in The Hill about how requiring schools to stock epinephrine can save students' lives. To read the op-ed, click here or see below.
Emergency Epinephrine in schools will save lives
By Rep. Steny Hoyer and Rep. Phil Roe
As a cosponsor of the original Violence Against Women Act in 1994, I am deeply disappointed that Republicans are trying to politicize this issue. Traditionally, domestic violence legislation has been a subject of bipartisan consensus. In the past, we rallied together around our common responsibility to help law enforcement stop perpetrators of sexual assault, stalking, and partner abuse and provide resources to victims.
Since taking the House majority, Republicans have chosen confrontation over compromise, choosing to move to the extreme right instead of moving to the middle and finding common ground. For over a year, Republicans have refused to work with Democrats, clinging to their partisan stance and walking away.