On the recordJanuary 5, 2017
As co-chair of the Maternity Care Caucus, I rise on behalf of mothers and babies who will suffer if Republicans repeal the Affordable Care Act. It is undisputable that, with prenatal care, babies are born healthier. Before the ACA, approximately 10 percent of childbearing women had no health insurance, and the plans of 60 percent of all insured women had no maternity coverage. With ObamaCare's Medicaid expansion and insurance subsidies, more than half of these women who were uninsured became eligible for maternity care. In addition, the ACA also requires health plans to cover maternity care and preexisting conditions. All of this will be lost with ACA repeal. Women will also lose coverage for lactation counseling and the cost of breast pumps, a known barrier to successful breastfeeding which is one of the most effective ways to protect the health of babies. I urge my Republican colleagues to consider the negative impacts repealing ObamaCare will have on our Nation's mothers and babies. We must protect the future health of our children by ensuring all moms have access to maternity care and breastfeeding support. ____________________
