Rep. Huffman denounces GOP health care bill passage in House

May 04, 2017

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) spoke out Thursday against the House passage of the Republican-led heath care bill, calling it a massive tax break for the wealthy.

After the original bill was pulled to prevent failure, today’s passage of the amended American Health Care Act is being touted as a victory by Republican House lawmakers in keeping a Trump campaign promise and a years-long effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. But Huffman, who voted against the bill, said it is a “bad deal” for the American people.

“The narrow, party-line passage of TrumpCare today in the House is a disaster for the availability and quality of health insurance for my constituents and for our neighbors and families all across the country,” he said. “The Trumps, Kushners, and Kochs do not need this assistance from Congress. You know who does? The families across my district – and across the country – who rely on Medicaid, and on the health insurance that they purchase, to keep their families healthy and to recover from health crises.”

On his Twitter feed, Huffman noted that all GOP congressman from California voted yes on the bill.

A press release issued by Huffman’s office argued the health care bill would mean higher out-of-pocket costs and a loss of coverage for 24 million Americans over the next 10 years, as the Congressional Budget Office has stated.

“...(The) CBO estimates that, if the GOP bill were enacted this year, 14 million Americans would lose their coverage by 2018, 21 million would lose their coverage by 2020, and 24 million would lose their coverage by 2026,” the release said.

Huffman also said the bill threatens to steal $175 billion from the Medicare Trust Fund (relied on by seniors), eliminate protections for people with pre-existing conditions (without providing a fair amount of compensation) and impose an age tax on those 50 to 64 years old, regardless of their health.

“While Trumpcare’s passage in the House today is a hard loss, there is a long road ahead before this becomes law. We have our work cut out for us, and we will need to keep up the impressive level of engagement that made it so difficult for President Trump and Congressional Republicans to even have this vote today,” Huffman said.

It has been widely stated that the bill will not pass the Senate as is.


Source: by Ashley Tressel