Political Quotes

On the recordJune 29, 2020
Today, we vote on this bill that improves the Affordable Care Act by cutting the cost of healthcare for families at an unprecedented, anxious time in American life. More than 2.5 million Americans have been diagnosed with COVID-19. In the insurance world, that means millions more with a preexisting condition. Astonishingly, in the midst of this healthcare emergency, when we should be protecting coverage, the Trump administration, last week, asked the Supreme Court to strike down the entire ACA. If Mr. Trump has his wish, those 2.5 million Americans, along with 130 million others with preexisting conditions, will lose the landmark pro-patient protection that has been on the books for the past 10 years, namely, the right to health coverage even if you have been sick before and the confidence and serenity to know that you won't be charged more because of an illness in your past. It is right there on the first page of the ACA, section 2704: ``Prohibition of preexisting condition exclusions or other discrimination based on health status.'' Yet, the administration in its brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court a few days ago says: ``The entire ACA must fall.'' That is a verbatim quote. Well, Madam Speaker, if the ACA falls, preexisting condition protections fall with it, along with age-26 coverage for dependent children and the elimination of lifetime limits on health coverage, which will devastate patients with chronic illness.…
Said by
Joe Courtney
Democratic · Connecticut

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