NILC Condemns House Vote, Calls on Senate to Reject American Health Care Act

WASHINGTON — Despite broad consensus and widespread concern about millions of Americans losing access to affordable health insurance, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives today narrowly passed a bill to repeal key provisions of the Affordable Care Act.

The approved bill keeps provisions from previous iterations of the markedly unpopular Republican plan, known as the American Health Care Act, or AHCA. One provision would exclude many immigrants from accessing tax credits that, although inadequate, are intended to make health care affordable. It would also roll back baseline health insurance benefits and allow states to opt out of protections for people with preexisting conditions.

A Congressional Budget Office assessment of an earlier version of the bill found that 24 million Americans would lose insurance coverage under its provisions. Experts have also found it would most negatively impact the bottom lines of older and low-income Americans, while transferring more wealth to the already wealthy.

Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, issued the following statement:

“The AHCA has been a bad deal for everyone since its inception, but its potentially devastating impact would be most acutely felt by some of the most disenfranchised people in our communities—low-income families, women, and those already struggling to make ends meet because of health concerns. Today’s vote shows a complete disregard by House Republicans’ for the health of millions of families. It’s revolting. But it’s not too late. The Senate can and must reject this harmful bill.

“The Affordable Care Act, though not perfect, has extended access to affordable care to tens of millions—including many thousands of immigrant families. Rather than entertain misguided political attacks, our leaders in Congress should be looking for ways to provide all people in our communities—no matter where they were born or the color of their skin—with the care they need to stay healthy.”

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