Washington DC — Protect Our Care, the advocacy group which led the fight to defeat President Trump and the GOP’s effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act and to make health care the defining issue of the 2018 elections, has thrown its support behind legislation to roll back Trump Administration sabotage of the law and to protect people with pre-existing conditions which is the subject of a congressional hearing tomorrow.
Building on the mandate of voters to make this a “Health Care Congress,” the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health will hold a hearing tomorrow on bills to strengthen our health care system, reverse sabotage and ensure pre-existing conditions protections. During the hearing, the committee will review bills, in advance of future committee and floor votes, which would halt the administration’s harmful waivers, roll back junk plans that undermine people with pre-existing conditions and provide insufficient coverage, and restore funding for open enrollment that has been slashed by President Trump in an act of deliberate sabotage. Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care, released the following statement in support:
“In November, voters threw scores of Republicans out of office and sent an unmistakable rebuke to President Trump for their efforts to repeal and sabotage the health care of millions of Americans. Instead, voters put Democrats in charge of the House of Representatives to put an end to the Republican war on health care by lowering costs, expanding coverage and preserving and enhancing patient protections like those for people with pre-existing conditions.
“While Republicans are ignoring the message voters sent by continuing to pursue an agenda to rip health care away from millions, Democrats are responding by taking direct aim at the deliberate sabotage of the Trump administration by rolling back junk plans, restoring open enrollment and ending harmful waivers intended to undermine the law – an effort we wholeheartedly endorse.”
Background:
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.
- H.R. 986, the “Protecting Americans with Preexisting Conditions Act of 2019”, introduced by Rep. Ann M. Kuster (D-NH), would require the Trump Administration to rescind the Section 1332 guidance of the ACA promulgated in October of 2018.
- H.R. 987, the “Marketing and Outreach Restoration to Empower Health Education Act of 2019” or the “MORE Health Education Act”, introduced by Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), will restore outreach and enrollment funding to assist consumers in signing up for health care, which has been slashed by the Trump Administration.
- H.R. 1010, To provide that the rule entitled “Short-Term, Limited Duration Insurance” shall have no force or effect, introduced by Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL), will reverse the Trump Administration’s expansion of junk insurance plans, also known as short-term, limited-duration insurance plans.
- H.R. 1143, the “Educating Consumers on the Risks of Short-Term Plans Act of 2019,” introduced by Chairwoman Eshoo (D-CA), and would require short-term, limited duration insurance (STLDI) to disclose the risks of STLDI to prospective consumers, including disclosure that STLDI may not cover preexisting conditions, may not cover the costs of medical services, and that coverage may be rescinded if the individual seeks treatment for a preexisting condition.
The Trump Administration has repeatedly sabotaged the open enrollment process by cutting outreach resources and shortening the enrollment time period.
- Protect Our Care’s Statement On The Trump Administration’s Sabotage Efforts Harm Open Enrollment
Junk coverage provided by short-term plans leaves those who get sick with thousands of dollars in unpaid bills.
- Factsheet On Short-term Junk Plans’ Inadequate Medical Coverage
New federal policies for 1332 waivers reduce protections that ensure benefits and cost-sharing protections found in the Affordable Care Act.
- Trump Administration’s Attempt To Water Down The Guardrails For Health Insurance Plans With 1332 Waivers.