Trouble For The Affordable Care Act
Hoyer Statement Slamming Donald Trump's Threat to Eliminate the Affordable Care Act
By Congressman Steny Hoyer
President Trump's recent call to eliminate the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and restrict Americans' access to quality, affordable healthcare is both abhorrent and unsurprising. In 2015, he claimed he would replace the ACA with “something terrific.” More than eight years later, we still have yet to see any semblance of his plan. Evidently, he is just as out of touch with the American people today as he was then.
We cannot underestimate the devastating impact that repealing the ACA would have on our country. The law has become an essential part of American life. In the thirteen years since the ACA's enactment, 40 million Americans have gained health coverage thanks to the law's programs, protections, and expansions to Medicaid. More than 135 million Americans under the age of 65 living with preexisting conditions no longer have to worry about accessing the care they need. Because of the tax credits Democrats secured in the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act, a record 16.3 million people – including more than 3.6 million new enrollees – signed up for insurance plans through ACA marketplaces during the last open enrollment period. They’ll save an average of $800 a year thanks to these new laws. I encourage all Marylanders and Americans to take advantage of these savings before our current open enrollment period ends on January 15.
Trump wants to undo all of this progress. He plans to jeopardize Americans' health as we recover from the worst pandemic in a century. He intends to jack up medical expenses at a time when millions of Americans are depending on savings from the ACA amid heightened inflation. We ought to take Trump at his word. His comments aren't a bluff or a hollow threat. They will become America's reality if he is elected to a second term.
Bringing the ACA to the House Floor and helping lead Democrats in passing that historic law remains one of the proudest moments of my 42 years in the House. I've stood with Democrats – and a vast majority of Americans – to protect and expand upon the progress that the ACA made. We will continue to do so, no matter how hard Republicans try to undermine Americans' ability to get the care they need.
