Washington, D.C. – Congressman Dave Loebsack released the following statement Friday morning, July 28th, after the Senate rejected the latest plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
“Whether it was 16, 22, or 32 million Americans who would have lost their coverage, it was clear that the various Republican plans to repeal the ACA were never going to improve the healthcare system. After last night’s votes, it is especially clear that there is not a bipartisan majority to pass legislation that would have immediately increased premiums by 25 percent and double them over ten years while imposing an “age tax” that charges older Americans more. That is not fair. It is time we move forward in a way that reduces premiums for families and expands the number of options people have. In the past, I am proud to have worked in a bipartisan manner to enact legislation that reduced the burden on small businesses by cutting the unneeded paperwork requirement and fought for lower costs by supporting bipartisan efforts to eliminate the medical device tax.
“Moving forward, there are things we can do to provide Iowans with better and more affordable healthcare options. First and foremost, we must ensure protections for people with preexisting conditions. We must also offer more healthcare options, rather than fewer, for Iowa's families like allowing people to buy into Medicare and expanding bidding areas in the marketplace to create more competition for rural areas.
“I stand ready to work with anyone in good faith to fix the ACA and help ensure more Iowans have access to affordable, quality healthcare. My goal is to ensure every Iowan’s healthcare meets this test of affordability and quality. We should get busy and get to work making it happen today.”
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