[Page H5313]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
           MAINTAIN CRITICAL AFFORDABLE CARE ACT PROTECTIONS

  (Ms. CRAIG asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. CRAIG. Madam Speaker, our work to lower healthcare costs for 
working families could not be more urgent. Yesterday, we heard the 
first arguments in the Texas v. United States case that will determine 
whether we maintain critical protections for patients with preexisting 
conditions.
  We must work to improve the healthcare system that has now been in 
place for almost a decade, not dismantle the progress that we have 
achieved. If this lawsuit is successful, an additional 35,000 folks in 
my district could become uninsured.
  We cannot allow this to happen. To be sure, we need to fix and 
improve the healthcare system today. What we should be here talking 
about is how we can do that together.
  We should be talking about ideas, such as the Medicare-X Choice Act 
of 2019, which would add competition in the health insurance market. We 
should be talking about how we reduce the high price of prescription 
drugs. Medicare-X would create an affordable public option. The PRICED 
Act would shorten market exclusivity.
  It is time for solutions. Americans don't have time for anything 
less.

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