[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 109 (Thursday, June 28, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E941-E942]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   PROTECT HEALTH CARE ACCESS FOR ALL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. TERRI A. SEWELL

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 28, 2018

  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to bring awareness 
to the Republicans' effort to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and 
weaken protections provided by Medicaid and Medicare. Republicans began 
their sabotage of the ACA when many of their Governors, including 
Alabama's Governor, refused to expand Medicaid. In these states, the 
full benefits of the law haven't been realized. Working families have 
been left behind, rural hospitals have closed, and premiums have risen.
   Make no mistake, these governors created an environment in which 
Republican politicians could campaign on the failures of the ACA, all 
while taking NO credit for the failures they created. The millions of 
working Americans who fall in the Medicaid gap and live in non-
expansion states have been overlooked! This body needs to be laser 
focused on improving the marketplace for the working Americans who have 
fallen victim to the lack of Medicaid expansion.
   Last year, I sat down with my hairdresser in Birmingham, and she 
immediately told me about how she had lost her health coverage. She 
didn't know why, but as she explained her situation, I quickly realized 
that she had fallen into our state's Medicaid gap.
   A few years before in 2014, thanks to the Affordable Care Act, she 
received Cost Sharing Reductions to afford commercial health insurance 
for the first time at an affordable rate.

[[Page E942]]

Unfortunately, President Trump has decided that he doesn't value those 
CSRs and has pulled those subsidies. But last year, before his harmful 
decision was implemented, my hairdresser fell victim to another form of 
health care sabotage--our Republican Governor's failure to expand 
Medicaid.
   Since 2014, my hairdresser had comprehensive coverage through Blue 
Cross, subsidized by cost sharing reductions from the ACA. She had 
access to primary care appointments and everything she needed to lead a 
healthy life. Unfortunately, hairdressing is one of the many careers in 
the service economy in which income fluctuates from year to year. And 
in 2017, her income fell below the poverty line.
   If she lived in an expansion state, she would have had the option to 
be covered by Medicaid while she continued to work. But instead, she 
lives in Alabama. She was left without coverage because she made too 
much to qualify for Medicaid.
   She was forced into the commercial market with no premium assistance 
whatsoever. Premiums are higher in states that didn't expand Medicaid. 
Therefore, premiums in Alabama are much higher than what she could 
afford. President Trump's elimination of the cost-sharing reductions 
has been cited by insurers as a driving force behind premium hikes in 
2018.
   My hairdresser was anxious about having an emergency in which she 
would be left with large medical bills she couldn't pay. I was 
heartbroken seeing her pain. Fortunately, we were able to connect her 
with patient navigators at a large hospital in Birmingham. The Trump 
Administration has ended contracts with navigators under the ACA, but 
since the hospital has sufficient resources, they have taken the cost 
of continuing the program on themselves.
   I was happy we could help her, but there are millions of working 
Americans like her who don't have that kind of access to their Member 
of Congress. For these Americans, even a year without basic health care 
coverage can be catastrophic.
   When I think about the health disparities currently plaguing 
Republican states, I think about all of the constituents I've met while 
in Congress. We cannot allow our working constituents to continue being 
victims of political malpractice. We can no longer ignore the 
vulnerable residents of non-expansion states and their needs.
   Make no mistake, the ACA strengthened access to primary health care 
services across the country, even in non-expansion states. In Alabama 
alone, the law gave 897,000 mental health and substance use disorder 
benefits, treated more than two million children and adults for pre-
existing conditions, and gave more than 650,000 Medicare enrollees free 
preventives services. However, approximately 235,000 Alabamians would 
have gained health insurance coverage if the state expanded Medicaid.
   It is my sincere hope that Congress will work together to alleviate 
the economic constraints of health care access for hardworking 
individuals across America. We need to restore what was best about the 
ACA and improve access for all.

                          ____________________