Letter to President-Elect Donald J. Trump - Rep. Meeks and NY Congressional Delegation Urge Trump to Consider Devastating Consequences of ACA Repeal on New York State

Letter

Dear President-Elect Trump,

We the undersigned Representatives from the State of New York, write to you today to convey the disastrous consequences repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would have on your home state. We implore you to consider both the economic and social impacts of repeal on the businesses and families of New York.

There is no doubt that repeal of the ACA would significantly impact the working families in the state, while providing a tax cut to wealthy New Yorkers. Repeal would cause over 2.7 million New Yorkers to lose health insurance coverage, including more than 218,000 in your home borough of Manhattan alone. Beyond people directly covered through the New York state insurance exchange, repeal would have devastating consequences to our entire health care system. Repeal means that all families could once again be subject to annual and lifetime limits and could be denied care for a pre-existing condition. Because repeal would reopen the prescription drug donut hole, seniors across the state would face higher prescription drug costs of $1,195 annually.

Additionally, repeal will cause a $24 billion budget shortfall for hospitals across New York state. Rural hospitals, in particular, would be under enormous financial pressure and could have to close their doors, leaving many in these areas without access to care. From Manhattan to Massena, New Yorkers reject this starkly ideological plan to repeal the ACA that would throw our entire health care system into disarray and not solve the real problems that families face.

While we acknowledge that the Affordable Care Act is not perfect, we will not stand idly by as you inflict a great wound on the people of New York we are sworn to represent and protect. We implore you to stop playing politics with the lives of our constituents and stop efforts to repeal this life-saving law.

Carolyn B. Maloney
Tom Suozzi
Kathleen Rice
Gregory Meeks
Grace Meng
Nydia Velázquez
Hakeem Jeffries
Yvette Clarke
Jerrold Nadler
Adriano Espaillat
Joseph Crowley
José Enrique Serrano
Eliot Engel
Nita Lowey
Sean Patrick Maloney
Paul Tonko
Louise Slaughter
Brian Higgins