Statement on the Passage of the American Health Care Act,
by Joe Baker, President of the Medicare Rights Center  

New York, NY—The American Health Care Act (AHCA) undercuts our core mission and violates our driving principles—to ensure older adults and people with disabilities are assured access to affordable, high-quality health care. This bill was written in the dark of night and rushed to the floor for a vote without anyone knowing how much it will cost or how many people it will affect.

The American people deserve better than Congress playing fast and loose with their health care, but it’s the substance of the AHCA that alarms us most of all. The AHCA would yank coverage out from under 24 million Americans, end Medicaid as we know it, weaken protections for people with pre-existing conditions, impose an unaffordable “age tax” on older Americans, and undermine the Medicare guarantee. The AHCA puts access to affordable health care at risk for every older adult, person with a disability, and American family, especially as our society ages and becomes increasingly reliant on Medicare and Medicaid.

We are undaunted by today’s vote, and we will continue to fight the AHCA’s passage. We ask the U.S. Senate to start from scratch and to seek consensus on health care reforms that protect and strengthen affordable access to care for American families, and we urge President Trump keep his campaign promise not to cut Medicare and Medicaid.

For more information on the Medicare program and proposals under consideration by Congress to change it, visit the Medicare Rights Center’s “Protect and Strengthen” webpage at www.medicarerights.org/protect.

Press Contact: Mitchell Clark – mclark@medicarerights.org

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