Issue Position: Promoting Affordable Healthcare

Issue Position

The Affordable Care Act helps ensure doctors and big insurance companies treat families fairly in everything from finding a doctor to receiving a diagnosis and receiving treatment. It's not right that high medical bills are the number one cause of bankruptcy in the U.S. As Health Subcommittee Chairman in the House Ways & Means Committee, I am working to ensure that affordable health care will always be there for American families that need it the most.

President Obama signed my AARP-endorsed NOTICE Act into law, which requires hospitals to provide meaningful written and oral notification to patients who are in the hospital "under observation" for more than 24 hours. Providing this notice can help Medicare patients avoid thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket, unexpected expenses. Similarly, my "End Surprise Billing Act" would help end the practice of patients getting an unexpected medical bill from an out-of-network provider who works at an in-network hospital.

The Trump Administration's repeated attempts to undermine the Affordable Care Act place the health of American families at risk. While the Department of Justice seeks to destroy the entire ACA, I have opposed Republican efforts to sabotage health care. Republicans merely offered a "Trumpcare" health plan, attempting to replace Obamacare with "I don't care." I firmly opposed Republicans' "NothingCare" proposals. Instead of repealing Obamacare, Congress needs to work together to ensure health care is affordable.

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