Dear Mr. Austin:
Thank you for taking the time to contact me about the Affordable Care Act and recent efforts to repeal the law. I appreciate hearing from you about this issue.
On March 6, 2017, the House majority released the details of Trumpcare, which would repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. I am deeply troubled by this proposal, which would result in higher premiums, reduced coverage and fewer consumer protections for middle class Americans, while giving wealthy Americans significant tax cuts. Further, the proposed changes that Trumpcare would make to Medicaid are disgraceful. These changes would hurt hospitals, seniors, individuals with disabilities and families with low incomes throughout Pennsylvania. Any changes to our health care system must maintain or expand coverage, quality and care. Trumpcare does not meet this standard.
When the House of Representatives passed Trumpcare on May 4, 2017, they delivered an economic punch to the gut of middle-class families in Pennsylvania and throughout our Nation. This vote came despite the fact that Pennsylvanians and millions of Americans had rallied to expose Trumpcare for what it is: a massive tax cut for the wealthiest at the expense of average Americans and the vulnerable. It is particularly outrageous that the version of Trumpcare that passed the House breaks President Trump’s own promise to continue protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions. Instead, Trumpcare would allow individual states the option to throw them into high-risk pools, forcing them to pay thousands of dollars more for coverage.
Although Trumpcare has passed the House, it still must be considered by the Senate. As the Senate considers changes to our health care system, it is time for the majority to get serious, end their obsession with repealing the Affordable Care Act and work in a bipartisan way to keep what is working and fix what is not. Should they instead decide to bring Trumpcare to a vote, or push for another similar scheme, I will fight it with everything I have.
We have made significant strides in improving our health care system in recent years: 20 million individuals have obtained health insurance since 2010; insurance companies are no longer able to discriminate against individuals with pre-existing conditions, women or older Americans; and senior citizens have saved more than $20 billion on the cost of prescription drugs. Even so, I recognize that our health care system is far from perfect and that too many Americans continue to pay too much for their health care and prescription drugs. More work needs to be done, and I am hopeful that the majority and the minority might come together to seek further improvements to bring down the cost of care and to improve its quality.
I am actively working on commonsense solutions to improve our health care system. I recently joined several of my colleagues in introducing a bill to bring down prescription drug costs by allowing the importation of drugs from Canada. I also support creating a Medicare-like “public option” to compete with private insurance and provide consumers with more choices. I have also proposed changes to the Affordable Care Act itself, such as making it easier for families to access the law’s tax credit for health insurance when one spouse already has insurance at work.
Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this or any other matter of importance to you.
For more information on this or other issues, I encourage you to visit my website, http://casey.senate.gov. I hope you will find this online office a comprehensive resource to stay up-to-date on my work in Washington, request assistance from my office or share with me your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you and to Pennsylvania.
Sincerely,
Bob Casey
United States Senator
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