Democrats’ Bill to Strengthen the ACA Unveiled One Day Before Trump and Republican AGs File Briefs in Support of the Lawsuit to Overturn the Law
Washington, DC — Today at a press conference, Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats formally introduced the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act” a landmark bill to improve health care for Americans by building on key provisions in the Affordable Care Act. As highlighted at today’s press conference, the bill will lower the costs of health insurance by offering increased financial assistance to more people and increasing funding for outreach for open enrollment. It will improve health care by incentivizing holdout states to expand Medicaid and expanding Medicaid eligibility for mothers 12 months postpartum. New polling this week found that a bipartisan majority of Americans support these provisions of the bill and reject Trump’s lawsuit to overturn the ACA. The introduction of Democrats’ bill comes just one day before the Trump administration and Republican-led states will file briefs in support of their lawsuit to overturn the ACA and rip health care from 20 million Americans, a contrast that has already garnered significant attention. In response, Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach issued the following statement:
“The bill unveiled by House Democrats today will lower costs, expand coverage, and strengthen protections for pre-existing conditions at a time when access to affordable health care has never been more critical. Democrats are improving Americans’ health care while 24 hours later, Donald Trump and Republicans will file briefs in their lawsuit to take health care away from 20 million Americans and protections away from 135 million people with a pre-existing condition. One side is trying to rip coverage away from millions of Americans in the midst of a public health crisis while the other is trying to make health care more accessible and affordable for the American people — the choice is clear.”