Rep. Susie Lee Delivers Speech Urging Colleagues to Support Bill to Strengthen Affordable Care Act

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Washington, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Susie Lee (Nev.-03) delivered a speech on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in support of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act, which would build on the progress of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by lowering health costs and prescription drug prices for millions of Americans.

The following are Rep. Lee's floor remarks urging her colleagues to vote in favor of the Affordable Care Enhancement Act:

"On behalf of the people of Nevada's 3rd District, I rise today to stand up for my constituents' access to health care and lifesaving treatments, and support the Affordable Care Enhancement Act.

"A constituent of mine, Mark, wrote to me recently. He's retired and on Medicare, and is also diabetic and requires insulin to survive. He told me the cost of his insulin is going up 400 percent with no warning or explanation.

"This is life and death for him because he needs insulin, but can't afford it.

"This moment should give us all pause.

"Millions are out of work, thousands are sick and dying from a global pandemic, yet lifesaving medications are still out of reach for Americans who need them.

"It's unbelievable that this administration continues its campaign to take away people's health care.

"Seniors like Mark deserve better. Nevadans deserve better. Americans deserve better.

"Medication costs, rising premiums, and junk insurance plans are forcing people to choose between lifesaving treatment and paying their bills. No one in this great country should have to make that choice.

"I urge my colleagues to vote for the Affordable Care Enhancement Act, and give every American access to affordable health care."

BACKGROUND: The Affordable Care Enhancement Act would:

Lower Americans' health coverage costs by:

• Expanding tax credits to lower Americans' Marketplace health insurance premiums and allowing more middle-class individuals and families to qualify for subsidies—for the first time, no person will pay more than 8.5 percent of their income on a silver plan in the Marketplaces.
  • A family of four earning $40,000 would save nearly $1,600 in premiums each year.
  • A 64-year-old earning $57,420 would save more than $8,700 in premiums each year.
  • A single adult with income of $31,900 would see premiums cut in half.
  • An adult earning $19,140 would see premiums cut to zero, saving $800 dollars a year.
    
• Ensuring that families who do not have an offer of affordable family coverage from an employer can qualify for subsidies in the Marketplaces.
  
• Providing funding for reinsurance initiatives to further lower premiums, deductibles, and other out-of-pocket costs.

Negotiate lower prescription drug prices by:

• Including the transformational drug price negotiation mechanism from the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, (H.R. 3), which would deliver immense savings to taxpayers, employers, workers, and patients by preventing Americans from having to pay so much more for our medicines than pharmaceutical companies charge for the same drugs overseas.

Expand coverage and push hold-out states to adopt Medicaid expansion by:

• Pressing Medicaid expansion hold-out states to reconsider by renewing the ACA's original expanded federal matching for states that adopt the Medicaid expansion and progressively reducing administrative FMAP for those who continue to refuse. More than 4.8 million Americans have been cruelly excluded from coverage because states have refused to expand Medicaid.
  
• Funding critical federal and state efforts to increase health coverage enrollment, educate consumers of their health care rights, and help individuals navigate the health insurance system.
  
• Delivering funding for states who want to establish their own state-based Marketplaces.

Combat inequity in health coverage that communities of color face by:

• Fighting the maternal mortality epidemic by requiring states to extend Medicaid or CHIP coverage to new mothers for one year post-partum.
  
• Protecting vulnerable populations from losing health coverage by ensuring that Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries receive a full 12 months of coverage once enrolled, protecting them from interruptions due to fluctuations in their income throughout the year.
  
• Improving Medicaid beneficiaries' access to primary care physicians, by reauthorizing the ACA's increased payments to primary care physicians who treat Medicaid recipients.

Crack down on junk plans and strengthen protections for people with pre-existing conditions by:

• Reversing the Trump administration's expansion of junk health insurance plans that do not provide coverage for essential medical treatments and drugs, and that are allowed to discriminate against people with pre-existing medical conditions.
  
• Curtailing the Trump administration's efforts to give states waivers to undermine protections for people with pre-existing conditions and weaken standards for essential health benefits.