May 10, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 78 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page H3719]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            REPUBLICANS HAVE NO PLAN TO IMPROVE HEALTH CARE

  (Mr. CASTEN of Illinois asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  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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