Issue Position: Health Care
Issue Position
The American people cannot afford to return to the broken health care system of the past decade, which protects insurance company profits at the expense of patient rights. Congresswoman McCollum was proud to vote for the Affordable Care Act last year and will continue to oppose every effort to repeal this law or efforts to limit appropriated funds to allow for its full implementation.
In the 112th Congress, the Republican majority has already acted upon their top priority - the repeal of patient protections in the new health care law. Republican H.R. 2 - "Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act" - was passed by the House of Representatives with all 242 members of the Republican conference and Tea Party Caucus voting to strip new health care rights and benefits to millions of families, providers, and businesses. For the millions of individuals that will gain access to affordable coverage in 2014, the Republican repeal would mean increasing the number of Americans who are uninsured and underinsured. Congresswoman McCollum was proud to join 188 Democrats in voting against this legislation.
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Social Security and Medicare are also two critical programs that provide millions of seniors, people with disabilities, and surviving family members the financial and health care support needed to live life with respect, dignity, and not in poverty. More than 54 million Americans receive Social Security benefits, and 47 million Americans are enrolled in Medicare.
Ensuring Social Security and Medicare's long-term solvency by strengthening these programs and protecting them from Republican efforts to privatize them is a top priority for me. Social Security is solvent -- paying full benefits -- until 2037. The Medicare Trust Fund's solvency has been extended twelve years -- until 2029 -- as a result of the health reform law passed by Democrats in Congress. In addition, the legislation improved basic Medicare benefits by providing seniors with free preventative care and eliminating the prescription drug "donut hole" by 2020.
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