On the recordMay 4, 2017
I reserve the balance of my time. {time} 0930 Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I am not sure if my colleagues are aware of this since we are moving so quickly here, but I want to flag for everyone an important op-ed in The Hill by the executive director of the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. She points out that in the latest version of this legislation, rape can once again be categorized as a preexisting condition as it often was before the Affordable Care Act. I include her column, entitled ``Health `reform' will make sexual assault survivors sick,'' in the Record. Health `Reform' Will Make Sexual Assault Survivors Sick (By Gina Scaramella) So far, we know that about 24 million Americans stand to lose their health insurance coverage if the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is replaced with the American Health Care Act (AHCA). We know that most of those 24 million people will be low-income. We also know that groups of people who experience significant health care disparities, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, and Black and Latino people, will be among those who risk losing the most if the ACA is repealed. To that list, we must add survivors of sexual violence. Before passage of the ACA in 2010, sexual assault survivors who had sought medical care for their injuries could be denied health insurance coverage at a later date. The reason? Health insurers often categorized rape as a pre-existing health condition.…
