Statement of Robert Restuccia, executive director of Community Catalyst, in response to today’s decision by the House of Representatives not to proceed with a vote on the American Health Care Act.

“In a stunning victory for tens of millions of people, House Republicans and President Trump have been dealt a major setback in their quest to advance a health care bill that would have stripped health care from millions of people and gutted Medicaid in order to fund tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans and large corporations.

“House members of both parties who publicly opposed the bill stood on the right side of history, wisely heeding the calls of their constituents who phoned, wrote letters, rallied by the thousands and confronted their leaders at town halls to voice their opposition to the American Health Care Act (AHCA) – in all of its iterations.

“During the campaign, President Trump pledged to make health care better and more affordable. He said he would not cut Medicaid or Medicare, that he would preserve the federal ban on pre-existing exclusions, and that his health care bill would have lower premiums and out-of-pocket costs. As written, the AHCA – fervently supported by Trump – would have violated every one of those commitments. We will continue to hold him and his administration to his campaign promises. There are other health care fights ahead, and we will remain steadfast in our efforts to protect and preserve people’s access to affordable health care.

“Now that the people have rejected efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and undermine Medicaid, the Trump administration should work with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to protect Medicaid and build on the progress we have made expanding coverage, reducing medical debt, improving health equity and tackling the opioid addiction epidemic.

“With implementation of the ACA, we have made great progress addressing the problems of our health care system, but it is far from perfect. We need policy makers to move forward with a real health reform agenda to lower out-of-pocket costs, address inequities, bring down the sky-high cost of prescription drugs and improve the quality of care.”

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About Community Catalyst
Community Catalyst is a national, non-profit consumer advocacy organization founded in 1998 with the belief that affordable quality health care should be accessible to everyone. We work in partnership with national, state and local organizations, policymakers, and philanthropic foundations to ensure consumer interests are represented wherever important decisions about health and the health system are made: in communities, courtrooms, statehouses and on Capitol Hill. For more information, visit www.communitycatalyst.org. Read our blog at http://blog.communitycatalyst.org. Follow us on Twitter @healthpolicyhub.