Washington, D.C. — Today the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act (ACEA). Among other measures, this legislation would lower health care costs and expand access to coverage for at least 17 million Americans by bolstering and expanding eligibility for the Affordable Care Act’s premium tax credits; provide funding for reinsurance so that states can lower out-of-pocket costs for patients; encourage states to expand Medicaid, including extending postpartum coverage to 12 months; and ban short-term insurance plans that do not cover preexisting conditions. Topher Spiro, vice president of Health Policy at the Center for American Progress, released the following statement on the bill’s passage:
As the Trump administration is suing to take health care coverage from more than 23 million Americans, the House majority is delivering real results for the American people: reducing inequality in America’s health care system and providing financial relief for families. The ACEA would lower costs and expand access to coverage for more than 17 million Americans; empower Medicare to negotiate drug prices that would save families substantially; and protect people with preexisting conditions. It would provide a solid foundation on which Congress should build to guarantee universal, high-quality, and affordable health care and give Americans more choices than those offered on the individual market or by their employer. As communities across the country suffer the fallout of the federal government’s mismanagement of the coronavirus, the American people need health care they can depend on more than ever.
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