[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 579-580]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   PLAYING POLITICS WITH HEALTH CARE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
New York (Ms. Velazquez) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, House Republicans are playing politics 
with millions of Americans' health care. In fact, if Republicans go 
forward with their plan to chaotically dismantle the Affordable Care 
Act, 30 million Americans will lose health insurance. In New York State 
alone, 1.6 million of our neighbors, who gained coverage through ACA, 
will see their health insurance taken away; and 2.7 million New Yorkers 
who have enrolled in Medicaid could lose coverage.
  But let us remember that this is not just about New Yorkers. In fact, 
the sad irony is that many of the Americans who will lose and be most 
devastated by repeal of this law are in red States and counties, the 
places that voted for President-elect Trump. Those areas have high 
numbers of Americans on the Medicaid rolls. Already, States like Idaho, 
Nebraska, South Dakota, and Georgia are putting Medicaid expansion on 
hold, waiting to see how action on the ACA plays out. That means half a 
million Americans will have to wait for health benefits.
  But let's keep in mind that this is not just about Medicaid and it is 
not just about those who obtained coverage through the exchanges. What 
we need to remember is that all the elements of healthcare reform work 
together. If you start chipping away at one part of the system, you 
will see disasters in other parts of the market.
  This is about the young person, just out of college, who can stay on 
their parents' insurance until they are 26, giving them time to secure 
employment and coverage on their own. It is about patients with a 
preexisting condition who, until the ACA, were barred from securing 
quality medical insurance. It is about women who have, time and again, 
faced gender discrimination in the insurance market.
  Just this past Saturday, New Yorkers in my district rallied together 
to oppose Republican plans to roll back the ACA and make America sick 
again. We heard from our local hospitals and healthcare providers who 
talked about how they will be affected by a dramatic surge in charity 
care. Nationally, healthcare providers could get stuck with $88 billion 
in 2019 alone and $1.1 trillion from 2019 to 2028 in uncompensated 
care. This will strain resources and make it harder for them to provide 
care to all their patients.
  And we heard from ordinary working people who have benefited from the 
ACA, people like Juana Alvarez, who was able, for the first time, to 
secure coverage for herself and her family through this law. We heard 
from Susan Maples, who told us she would not have

[[Page 580]]

been able to start her own business without the health benefits 
afforded under ACA. These are the people Republicans are planning to 
harm with their irresponsible, chaotic, and destructive attack on our 
health system.
  Now, let me also note this: The Republican slogan ``repeal and 
replace'' is a sham.
  What are they going to replace the ACA with?
  They have never--not once--put together a realistic, defensible plan 
to replace the ACA. The Republican plan is not repeal and replace. It 
should be called ``repeal and displace'' because it will mean 
displacing millions of Americans from their health coverage.
  So let's be clear. If you are voting to take away the ACA, you are 
voting to take away health care from millions. And for those who do 
retain their employer-based coverage, you are voting to increase their 
premiums, as millions of healthy Americans are taken out of the 
insurance pool. This is a recipe for disaster. It is a plan to make 
America sick again, and it cannot stand.
  I urge my colleagues to think about what you are doing. Think about 
going home and looking in the eyes of your constituents and telling 
them you voted to take away their health coverage. Enough playing 
politics with health care.

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