GOP Votes – Again – to Put Insurance Companies Back in Charge of Americans’ Health Care, Charge Women More for Health Insurance
Washington, D.C. – House Republicans voted today yet again to put insurance companies back in charge of Americans’ health care, a goal they have sought ever since President Obama’s signature legislative achievement ensured that consumers, not insurance companies, would be in charge of their health care for the first time in American history, Rep. George Miller (D-CA) said today. Miller, the senior Democrat on the Education and Workforce Committee, is one of the three principal authors of the Affordable Care Act and strongly opposes H.R. 3350, the so-called Upton bill.
“Republicans voted again today to let insurance companies discriminate against women, to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions, and to control Americans’ decisions about their own health care,” said Miller. “Shame on them.
“Before the Affordable Care Act went into effect, insurance companies could charge women more for health insurance than men, just because they are women. Insurance companies could deny people insurance or charge them more for it if they had a so-called pre-existing condition. We changed all that. It was an historic achievement that had eluded every president for a century.
“Republicans are determined to wipe that achievement away. They have always wanted to take it away and they are admitting today that they are still trying to put insurance companies back in charge, admitting that they want to reestablish all the discriminatory practices that so plagued Americans’ desperate attempts to get affordable and quality health care.
“Remember, Republicans are so determined to put insurance companies in control of Americans’ health care they even shut down the federal government for two weeks in October, costing the economy $24 billion and sinking consumer confidence.
“They opposed the Affordable Care Act from the start and had nothing to offer in its place. They have always accepted the fact that nearly 50 million Americans lacked access to health insurance or that any American at any time could be dropped from their health insurance. In fact, that is the Republican health care policy – let insurance companies decide if you get coverage or not.
“Fortunately, Democrats enacted one of the most important laws in American history. While it is admittedly getting off to a rocky start, the fact is that the new law is already helping millions of Americans and it will only continue to help millions more as it is further implemented over the months and years ahead. The greatest threat to our constituents’ health care is the very Republicans who today voted to put insurance companies back in charge of Americans’ health insurance decisions.”
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