[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 125 (Wednesday, July 25, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1068]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                EQUITABLE ACCESS TO CARE AND HEALTH ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. WILLIAM R. KEATING

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 25, 2018

  Mr. KEATING. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Equitable 
Access to Care and Health Act, or the EACH Act, which seeks to provide 
a bipartisan, common-sense exemption to the Affordable Care Act for 
those who uniquely rely on religious methods of healing.
  In my home state of Massachusetts, we are very proud of our 
healthcare system, the system which, as my colleagues know, formed the 
basis for the Affordable Care Act, the law from which so many Americans 
benefit today.
  As the Massachusetts legislature contemplated the direction of its 
successful healthcare system, lawmakers saw fit to provide an exemption 
from its insurance requirements for sincerely held religious beliefs. 
The exemption grants reprieve for Massachusetts residents who would not 
otherwise use our traditional healthcare system even if they did carry 
traditional health insurance. At its essence, the EACH Act seeks to 
extend a similar reprieve for Americans who would not otherwise benefit 
from the system created under the Affordable Care Act.
  Thank you to my colleague Mr. Davis of Illinois for his leadership on 
this issue. I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan 
legislation.

                          ____________________