Democrats, Responding to the Mandate from Voters in November, Introduce Bills to Roll Back Junk Plans, End Harmful Waivers and Stop the Deliberate Sabotage of Open Enrollment
Washington, DC — Today, following yesterday’s hearing on the Texas lawsuit and its impact on people with pre-existing conditions, the Subcommittee on Health of the Committee on Energy and Commerce announced a series of bills to protect people with pre-existing conditions and block Republican sabotage of American health care. Subcommittee Chair Anna Eshoo explained in her opening remarks in yesterday’s hearing that the “reforms of the ACA protect every American.” The bills put a halt to the administration’s harmful waivers, roll back junk plans that undermine people with pre-existing conditions, and restore outreach funding for open enrollment that has been slashed by President Trump in an act of deliberate sabotage.
The bills respond to the will of voters in November who made health care the number one issue in the election and is a direct repudiation of President Trump and Republicans who have led a relentless war on American health care.
“Voters sent a clear message in the 2018 midterms and rejected the Republican war on health care. The Democratic Congress is now delivering what the voters demanded and the ‘Health Care Congress’ is off to a strong start,” said Leslie Dach, Chair of Protect Our Care. “House committees held 5 hearings in the span of a week, and today’s bills are a clear rebuke to the Republican agenda of eliminating protections for people with pre-existing conditions and sabotaging Americans health care. The legislation introduced today would put a halt to the administration’s deliberately harmful waivers, roll back junk plans that are undermining protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and stop the sabotage of open enrollment by authorizing funding for navigators and marketing and requiring the administration to do its job and run future open enrollments as intended.”
“Taken together, these bills represent a repudiation of Trump-led Republican sabotage that has undermined American health care, driven up costs and increased the number of uninsured,” said Brad Woodhouse, Executive Director of Protect Our Care. “Make no mistake – President Trump and Republicans have made it their mission to repeal and sabotage American health care. The American people rejected that approach and scores of Republicans were shown the door in November as a result. Democrats are turning the page by confronting President Trump’s sabotage and doing what the American people want – making health care more affordable and accessible to all.”
To learn more about 1332 waivers, junk plans, and outreach funding see below: