On the recordMarch 10, 2017
Mr. Speaker, good morning, and listen, America. One of the Affordable Care Act's biggest successes was increasing mental health services for all the people through mental health parity protections and Medicaid expansion. The GOP's pay-more-for-less bill cuts taxes on the wealthy at the expense of those who can least afford to pay for their health coverage, like low-income families. One in five of Medicaid's 70 million beneficiaries have a mental health or a substance abuse disorder, and reports show services are needed especially for children. The bill would hurt those people by eliminating Medicaid expansion and gutting mental health services for this group, including the nearly 60,000 now covered in my district. I strongly oppose this repeal effort and urge our Republican colleagues to work with us to strengthen the Affordable Care Act so more Americans can have access to lifesaving care. Please, please, do that for us. ____________________





