Recognizing 10th Anniversary of Affordable Care Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. ESCOBAR. Madam Speaker, this month marks the 10-year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, which expanded healthcare coverage to millions of Americans, including those with preexisting conditions.

However, the ACA has also been attacked and undermined over the last decade, with the latest attempt originating from my home State of Texas. Texas, which has refused to expand Medicaid even though the State has the highest uninsured rate in the Nation, and the Trump administration argue that the entire law should be dismantled.

With the Supreme Court announcing they will hear the case this fall, over 44,000 El Pasoans are again living with the threat of having their healthcare coverage taken away from them. If the Supreme Court does invalidate the ACA, nearly 20 million Americans will lose their coverage.

At a time when we are confronting a public health emergency because of the coronavirus, a pandemic, we should be looking for ways to bolster healthcare coverage and protect community clinics and healthcare providers, not tear it away from El Pasoans and other communities around the Nation that need it the most.

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