Republicans Have No Plan to Improve Health Care

Floor Speech

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Mr. CASTEN of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 986, the Protecting Americans with Preexisting Conditions Act.

I was proud to vote in favor of H.R. 986 yesterday to rescind the Trump administration's dangerous effort to weaken lifesaving protections for people with preexisting conditions under the Affordable Care Act.

The Trump administration has been obsessed and relentless about undoing the historic and meaningful gains made under the ACA. Here, that means undermining the stability of the healthcare market and allowing States to promote junk, so-called short-term, limited-duration insurance options that directly discriminate against people with preexisting conditions.

Let us not forget that before the ACA, a woman's gender was, in effect, a preexisting condition. One-third of women who tried to buy health plans on their own were either turned down or charged a higher premium.

Republicans have no plan to improve healthcare, only to roll back the progress made in the ACA, putting the health coverage of the 52 million Americans with preexisting conditions in jeopardy.

I am proud of the progress that this House has made to protect Americans' health coverage, and I look forward to continuing action to expand access and lower healthcare costs.

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