news

U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-12) released the following statement after voting against Republican’s proposal to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the Energy and Commerce Committee.

“After more than 27 hours of straight debate in committee, it is clear that the Republican’s proposal to repeal the ACA would mean less coverage, fewer protections and higher costs for the working families and seniors we represent,” said Dingell. “This disastrous proposal would jeopardize the care seniors depend upon, hitting them with a double whammy – a new “age tax” that will drastically increase costs they pay for health care, and rationing care under the Medicaid program. It will rip health care away from millions of Americans and end Medicaid expansion, including Healthy Michigan, which has extended coverage to nearly 700,000 people in our state. The Committee also voted down my amendment to protect seniors’ access to long-term care services and supports under Medicaid. This is simply wrong.

“I strongly believe that access to quality, affordable healthcare is a right and not a privilege, and that the best test of our nation’s values is how we treat the most vulnerable among us. By that measure, this legislation fails miserably. It shortens the solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund, threatening coverage for 57 million Americans, and provides $600 billion in tax cuts to the wealthy while leaving working families with higher costs and less coverage.

“The math doesn’t add up – and we will not let up. We will continue to stand against this bill and fight for the quality, affordable health care every American deserves. We cannot afford to go backwards.”

For video of Dingell’s remarks on the bill, please click here.

For video of Dingell’s remarks on her long-term care amendment, please click here.

The Republican repeal bill was marked up without a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score that reveals how much the bill costs and how many people will lose health care coverage.

The Republican repeal bill:

• Implements an “age tax” for older Americans, which will drastically increase costs seniors pay for their healthcare. Older Americans will be forced to pay premiums five times higher than what others pay for health coverage.
• Rips health care away from millions of Americans by ending Medicaid expansion, which was championed by a Republican governor in Michigan and has covered 695,000 people in the state.
• Rations care for 76 million Americans by arbitrarily cutting and capping Medicaid, using a program that provides critical health services to the most vulnerable Americans as a piggy bank to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy.
• Forces Americans to pay more for less. Working families could see their premiums and deductibles increase by hundreds to thousands of dollars.
• Fails to protect up to 129 million Americans with pre-existing conditions. Protections only apply for those who maintain continuous coverage. If someone has a lapse in coverage, insurance companies could charge a 30 percent premium increase for an entire year. 
• Defunds Planned Parenthood. Women with nowhere else to turn will lose access to essential preventative care.