July 17, 2013 – Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) today voted against H.R. 2668 – a bill designed to undermine the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by delaying for one year the individual health insurance responsibility requirement. The lynchpin ACA provision, set to take effect on January 1, 2014, requires Americans, with a few exceptions, to have health insurance.
“When people don’t have insurance, their health care costs are paid by everyone else who does,” said Bonamici. “The individual responsibility requirement helps lower costs for everyone, making it possible for insurers to provide more comprehensive coverage at affordable prices. Eliminating this provision will cause insurance rates to rise. We should be working on ways to reduce health care costs, not spending more time on yet another attempt to undermine the Affordable Care Act.”
A new analysis from the Urban Institute shows that a repeal of the individual responsibility requirement would increase the number of uninsured Americans by 50 percent.
H.R. 2668 is opposed by the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Diabetes Association, the American Heart Association, Consumers Union, Families USA, the National Partnership for Women & Families, and the National Women’s Law Center.
The ACA is already making health care more accessible and affordable in Oregon’s 1stCongressional District:
• 7,100 additional young adults in the district now have health insurance.
• 7,600 seniors in the district received prescription drug discounts worth $4.2 million, an average discount of $550 per senior.
• 63,000 seniors in the district received Medicare preventive services without paying any co-pays, coinsurance, or deductibles.
• 43,000 children and 160,000 adults now have health insurance that covers preventive services without paying any co-pays, coinsurance, or deductibles.
• 650 small businesses in the district received tax credits to help maintain or expand health care coverage for their employees.
• $17.3 million in public health grants have been given to community health centers, hospitals, doctors, and other healthcare providers in the district to improve the community’s health.
• 10,000 to 45,000 children with preexisting health conditions can no longer be denied coverage by health insurers.
