Here is reaction from lawmakers across the Northeast to Thursday's House vote on the Affordable Care Act replacement bill.
New York Congressman John Faso (R, NY-19)
“The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has failed in its promises to the American people. From the start of this process, I have stated that the responsible path forward includes keeping what works and fixing what doesn’t. The ACA as it stands now will collapse under its own weight if nothing is done, imperiling millions of Americans through higher premiums and fewer choices. These are the facts:
- Currently one third of US counties have only one insurer.
- Premiums rose an average of 25 percent this year for those on the exchanges.
- Deductibles will average more than $6,000 this year for those in the lowest-priced ACA plans.
- 4.7 million Americans were kicked off their plans by the ACA.
- The ACA raised taxes by $1 trillion, including new payroll taxes for employers, business investments, and taxes on over-the-counter drugs and medical device manufacturers.
- 18 out of 23 ACA co-ops have failed, including Health Republic in New York State, costing taxpayers billions of dollars.
- 20 million Americans are without health insurance under the ACA.
“Acknowledging the ACA’s failures, the people’s representatives were faced with a choice: do nothing and watch millions of our citizens continue to be forced to buy insurance they cannot afford, or work together to improve a broken system. Unfortunately, Democrats offered not a single alternative. They simply obstructed any changes to the ACA. I believe the American Health Care Act (AHCA) as amended addresses the concerns I have heard from residents, businesses, providers and insurers.
“The AHCA will continue to protect Essential Health Benefits (EHB) and those with pre-existing conditions. Children up to 26 years old can continue to stay on their parents’ healthcare plans. In addition, New York insurance law requires health insurance plans to include Essential Health Benefits and also includes provisions for guaranteed issue of health insurance. This remains unchanged under the AHCA.
“Approximately 7 percent of the insured nationwide are in the individual market. Essential Health Benefits only cover those in the individual and small group markets under current ACA law. Those who receive health insurance from employers with over 50 employees have never been affected by ACA provisions relating to Essential Health Benefits. This too is unchanged under the AHCA. The limited waiver provision would only affect those in the individual market and would not affect New Yorkers. That’s because New York State law already contains these consumer protections and, as such, our state would not be able to seek this waiver in any event.
“The AHCA contains a provision I authored to eliminate the ability of New York State as of 2020 to impose Medicaid costs on county property taxpayers. For a typical homeowner or commercial property owner residing in the 19th District, Medicaid costs represent over 40 percent of their county property tax burden. New York’s Medicaid spending dwarfs that of most other states. For instance, New York spends more than Texas and Florida combined, even though these states have more than double our population. The provision I authored will bring much-needed property tax relief and keep people and jobs in Upstate New York.”
New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R, NY-21)
“Throughout this process, I have worked to make sure our district has had a seat at the table. I have kept one of my first promises that I made to you, which is that any law we pass applies to Members of Congress just as it would any citizen. That’s why I’ve coauthored successful legislation to ensure that Congress lives by the same rules in this bill as everyone else. I have also worked to have additional funding added for maternity care and language included to reduce the Medicaid mandate on our local counties.
“The American Health Care Act is not perfect, but it is an important step in reforming our broken healthcare system to help families in our district. As this legislation moves to the Senate, I will continue to work to strengthen the support for those with pre-existing conditions.
“This House vote is the first step in a long legislative process. I am committed to achieving a 21st century healthcare system that lowers costs, improves access and increases quality for hard working North Country families.”
Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York (D)
"Ultraconservatives in Washington have pushed through the House an unconscionable piece of legislation that threatens to tear apart our health care system. Far from improving our health care, the Republican plan will strip millions of Americans of their coverage, raise costs for the sick, the elderly, and those with pre-existing conditions, and penalize progressive states that protect the rights of women.
"Sadly, some representatives in New York have sold their vote and turned their backs on the very constituents they represent. This bill is a targeted assault against our values, punishing New Yorkers because we support women's reproductive rights and including the Collins/Faso amendment which would devastate the state’s health care industry, put millions of New Yorkers at risk, and increase the total cost of this bill on New York to $6.9 billion.
"Despite the vocal opposition of the American people, radical conservative ideologues are still advancing a disastrous bill. I urge all Americans to call their Senators and tell them to stand with the people they represent by voting no on this reprehensible legislation."
Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts (R):
“Massachusetts leads the nation in health care coverage and I am disappointed by today’s vote as this bill would significantly reduce critical funds for the Commonwealth’s health care system. As the U.S. Senate takes up this bill, we will continue to advocate for the Commonwealth’s priorities so that all residents have access to the health coverage they need. Maintaining flexibility through the Medicaid program is critical to the Commonwealth’s ability to provide coverage for the needy and I urge Congress to reject this bill in its current form.”
Governor Dannel P. Malloy and Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman of Connecticut (D):
Governor Malloy said, “Today’s vote by Congress is appalling. This action is a grave disservice to the people of our nation and undermines the core mission of the Affordable Care Act. The fact remains – Trumpcare threatens coverage for some of our most vulnerable populations, including seniors, persons with disabilities, and all Americans with pre-existing conditions. Our collective concern should be about stabilizing the marketplace and increasing access for all individuals to quality healthcare. The only thing that this proposal accomplishes is ensuring that when it comes to healthcare, Americans pay more for less.”
Lt. Governor Wyman said, “This is an inexcusable lack of leadership from Washington – and that’s why I’m convening a bipartisan working group in Connecticut to address these federal changes. Healthcare reform should be deliberated a policy challenge, not a political one. Under the Republican plan, healthcare costs rise for consumers and for the state. We lose hundreds of millions in federal funding and rising costs could be catastrophic for more than half a million Connecticut residents who have pre-existing conditions. Trumpcare further destabilizes the healthcare marketplace – and we still don’t have a CBO score or a full understanding of how many Americans will lose health insurance under the plan. The bill is bad, the process to gain passage was bad, and the impacts on our residents and the economy are bad.”
U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH):
“President Trump and Republican leadership have recklessly rushed legislation through the House that would be devastating to the health and wellbeing of New Hampshire,” said Shaheen. “This bill dramatically reduces healthcare coverage across the country, increases costs for patients, and eliminates protections that prevent insurance companies from discriminating against patients with pre-existing conditions. Under this bill, insurance companies could discriminate on a wide-range of conditions and circumstances, including history of cancer, heart disease, C-sections, postpartum depression and even being the victim of sexual assault or domestic violence. It also eliminates funding for Planned Parenthood, jeopardizing access to vital preventative care services that more than 12,000 Granite State women rely on to live healthy lives, care for their families, and lead in the workforce.
“It’s also unconscionable that, as New Hampshire battles one of the worst public health crises in our state’s history, this legislation eliminates coverage for mental health and substance misuse treatment that is critical to our response to the opioid epidemic.
“This bill profoundly demonstrates why Congress needs to work together to improve the Affordable Care Act, rather than repeal it. There’s bipartisan opposition to this disastrous repeal legislation in the Senate and I intend to work across the aisle to stop this plan in its tracks. Too many lives in New Hampshire depend on the coverage and protections that this bill eliminates.”
Connecticut Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-2, D)
“Just one month ago, Paul Ryan pulled the GOP healthcare bill minutes before a scheduled vote because support had collapsed in the face of vehement opposition from organizations such as the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association, the American Cancer Society, the Heart Association, the Lung Association, doctors and nurses,” said Courtney. “The groups denounced this bill after the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office found it would eliminate healthcare coverage for 24 million Americans.
“Today, Paul Ryan brought the bill back with changes to placate the most extreme elements of his party that in the words of the American Hospital Association will make ‘a bad bill even worse.’ The revised bill weakens protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and dismantles requirements that health insurance plans must cover maternity care, mental health services, addiction treatment, emergency room care, and bans on lifetime limits for coverage, just to name a few. The bill still raids the Medicare trust fund, rolls back Medicaid, and raises premiums on Americans over the age of 50.
“For those who frustrated with weaknesses in the existing law – this bill does nothing to address those and in fact greatly exacerbates them. I implore the Senate to scuttle this deeply flawed measure and give us the opportunity to enact real fixes to the healthcare system that Congress can consider on a bipartisan basis.”
“This bill profoundly demonstrates why Congress needs to work together to improve the Affordable Care Act, rather than repeal it. There’s bipartisan opposition to this disastrous repeal legislation in the Senate and I intend to work across the aisle to stop this plan in its tracks. Too many lives in New Hampshire depend on the coverage and protections that this bill eliminates.”
Connecticut U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D)
“There is no path forward in the Senate for legislation that is nothing more than a tax cut for the wealthy and punishment for the poor. It is simply cruel. House Republicans may have made superficial changes to this abomination of a bill, but they’ve done nothing to cure its underlying problems. Instead they’ve created a Frankenstein legislative proposal that will wreak havoc on our healthcare system.”
New York U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D)
“The Trump health care bill that passed today on a party-line vote is atrocious and must be defeated in the Senate. Health care shouldn’t be about politics – it is about people – and this bill would harm people. The only beneficiaries of this bill are big insurance companies and the wealthiest among us, with the price tag being paid by everyone else through higher premiums, less coverage, and millions of vulnerable Americans losing their insurance.
- “Older Americans will be forced to pay more for their health care through an age tax that lets insurance companies charge those aged 50-64 higher premiums.
- “Up to 24 million Americans with insurance today could lose that coverage.
- “Individuals with pre-existing conditions could lose their protections against premium discrimination granted under Obamacare.
“Obamacare isn’t perfect. Health insurance is still too costly for most Americans, and Congress should fix that. There are two ways to do that. Subsidize insurance companies further with taxpayer dollars or create a not-for-profit public option that cuts insurance companies and their profits out of the equation to lower premiums, drug prices, and out-of-pocket costs for everyone. I believe we should fight for that public option – but until then, I will work as hard as I can to defeat this misguided and purely political effort that will hurt New York families.”
Congresswoman Nita Lowey (NY-17, D)
“Today Republicans in the House of Representatives passed a monstrosity of a health care bill that will hurt the American people. It’s no wonder they reached an agreement on the bill in secret backroom deals and then refused to hold a hearing on it or even come clean on how much it will cost.
“Unfortunately, what we do know about TrumpCare 2.0 is that it will destroy protections for Americans with preexisting conditions, impose an Age tax on older Americans, and force working families to pay more for far less coverage. In New York alone, over 2.7 million people will be left without health coverage at all.
“The American people deserve open and transparent debate, and they deserve solutions that will improve their health care and their lives, not endanger them.”
Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty (D-CT 5)
“Today House Republicans voted to inflict deep, long-lasting harm on millions of American families for the sake of short-term political relief. This dishonest crusade against the Affordable Care Act has put politics before American lives. Under this bill, people with pre-existing conditions will lose the protection they have against bankrupting medical bills. People who are struggling with addiction or mental illness will likely not get the vital care they need. Some parents will be forced to make the gut-wrenching choice between keeping their life savings and keeping their child alive.
“The Affordable Care Act has problems that we need to work together to fix. The bill the House just passed solves none of these problems. But there is still time for my colleagues who have supported this moral and economic disgrace to find their courage and change course. I am ready and willing to work with them in a bipartisan way to reduce premiums, lower drug prices, expand access to care, and do the work our constituents sent us here to do.”
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders (I)
"The bill that Republicans passed today is an absolute disaster. It really has nothing to do with health care. It has everything to do with an enormous shift of wealth from working people to the richest Americans. This bill would throw 24 million people off of health insurance – including thousands of Vermonters – cut Medicaid by $880 billion, defund Planned Parenthood and substantially increase premiums on older Americans. Meanwhile, it would provide a $300 billion tax break to the top 2 percent and hundreds of billions more to the big drug and insurance companies that are ripping off the American people. Our job now is to rally millions of Americans against this cruel bill to make sure that it does not pass the Senate. Instead of throwing tens of millions of people off of health insurance, we must guarantee health care as a right to all."
Vermont U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D)
This Trumpcare bill is a cruel and cynical hoax, played on millions upon millions of Americans who would lose all or some of their health insurance protections under this plan. From clumsy start to appalling finish, House Republicans have shown no shame in advancing a bill that, in truth, is intended to give a massive tax cut to the wealthiest Americans, in the guise of a health care plan. It’s only gotten worse as House leaders have had to bargain for votes.
This hastily crafted bill was jammed through the House of Representatives with virtually no debate, substantive hearings or even a budget score to tally its price and its devastating effects on the families who would lose their health insurance under this legislative monstrosity. The American people -- and even those who voted for this -- have no idea how much this Trumpcare bill will cost, yet we do know that it will eviscerate vital insurance protections for people with pre-existing conditions, kick more than 20 million Americans off their health insurance, and mandate devastating cuts to Medicaid.
I will do all I can to prevent Senate action on this disastrous plan, or on anything that comes close to it.
New York AG Eric Schneiderman (D)
“The healthcare bill passed today by House Republicans is a threat to the health and wellbeing of all New Yorkers. In addition to the devastating impact this bill would have on every New Yorker’s access to affordable healthcare, the legislation that passed the House today is unconstitutional in several critical respects—and I stand ready to challenge it in court.
First, House Republicans’ attempt to effectively deny women access to reproductive healthcare services is a cruel and unconstitutional attack on women’s rights - especially the most vulnerable.
Further, the Collins-Faso Amendment is a cynical ploy by House Republican leadership and President Trump that exceeds Congress’s authority by interfering with how New York has long elected to fund its Medicaid program.
This bill threatens to slash essential healthcare services for millions of New Yorkers who need them the most.
For these reasons, if this disastrous and unconstitutional healthcare bill is ultimately signed into law, I will challenge it in court.”
