[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 97 (Tuesday, June 12, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H5025]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             PROTECTING COVERAGE FOR PREEXISTING CONDITIONS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Courtney) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, last Thursday, June 7, the Attorney 
General of the United States, Jeff Sessions, announced that: ``After 
careful consideration and with the approval of the President of the 
United States,'' his lawyers joined the State of Texas in Federal Court 
in a lawsuit to strike down standing provisions of the Affordable Care 
Act that protect patients from being denied health insurance coverage 
because of preexisting medical conditions.
  This stunning announcement was made despite the fact that Congress 
has not, and I repeat, has not repealed this part of the law, which is 
right here, page 1 of the Affordable Care Act, and despite the fact 
that President Trump and the Republican leaders have repeatedly 
promised to leave this section of the law alone.
  The President, in his 2017 State of the Union said: ``First, we must 
ensure that Americans with preexisting conditions have access to 
coverage.''
  Speaker Ryan: ``We are on a mission to make sure that everyone has 
access to affordable healthcare, especially those with preexisting 
conditions.''
  The Representative who is the chairman of the Energy and Commerce 
Committee that writes healthcare laws stated: ``We've talked about the 
protection for those with preexisting illnesses for the last year, and 
we're not going to budge either.''
  Thursday's announcement by President Trump's Attorney General to 
attack preexisting condition protections as unconstitutional, and the 
deafening silence over the last 5 days in the wake of that announcement 
from GOP leaders in the House, shows that all those heartfelt comments 
and words were nothing more than crocodile tears.
  From day one, the push to repeal the Affordable Care Act with no 
meaningful replacement, and last week's latest attack, shows this 
President and his political allies in Congress just plain don't care 
about the millions of Americans who struggle with medical conditions 
that they have no control over.
  Mr. Speaker, this issue is not just a Washington, D.C., political 
squabble. It is not just a courtroom battle between lawyers. It goes to 
the heart of whether we, as a Nation, will join the rest of the 
developed world to treat all Americans for disease, accidents, and 
chronic illness in a fair and just manner.
  Here are the facts. According to the Department of Health and Human 
Services, up to 133 million Americans have conditions that insurance 
companies, using the old rules of medical underwriting, defined as 
preexisting conditions, conditions like diabetes; cancer; high blood 
pressure, which I have; epilepsy; MS; Parkinson's; stroke, to name just 
a few. Again, this is the list that insurance companies use to screen 
people for whether or not they would actually deny them coverage at 
all, no matter how big a subsidy or no matter how much money you had to 
pay.
  Last year, during the debate on repeal, I heard from constituents in 
my district who benefited from the Affordable Care Act protections, 
like Michelle from Killingworth who said: ``Before the ACA, I tried to 
buy affordable health coverage, but I was turned down by major 
insurance companies due to preexisting conditions.''
  Patricia from Old Saybrook: My adult daughter has a chronic disease 
that costs over $10,000 every 6 weeks to treat. Our insurance is a 
godsend.
  Richard from Killingworth, a 63-year-old former educator who 
sustained TBI in an accident and was treated for prostate cancer: 
``Thankfully, due to the Affordable Care Act, I have been able to 
access healthcare that I need.''
  Michele from Preston, she and her husband rely on ACA coverage.
  This decision by the Attorney General last Thursday cannot and must 
not stand, and the voters in November will remember if this body does 
not act to protect people, their health coverage, for preexisting 
conditions.

                          ____________________