Hudson Votes for Conservative, Patient-Centered Health Care Reform
May 4, 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 4, 2017
Hudson Votes for Conservative, Patient-Centered Health Care Reform
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (NC-08) released the following statement after voting for the American Health Care Act (H.R. 1628), a conservative bill to repeal Obamacare and rebuild a market-driven, people-first health care system:
“As a conservative, I believe in the principles of limited government, free markets, liberty and personal responsibility. To that end, I made a promise to my constituents that I’d fight to repeal and replace Obamacare with conservative health care reform that incorporates these principles and puts them first, and today I’m keeping my word. While this bill isn’t perfect, it makes the biggest entitlement reform in a generation and repeals Obamacare’s taxes, mandates and regulations while maintaining strong protections for people with pre-existing conditions. This is the good, conservative health care reform I’ve fought for since my first days in office and the best chance to finally provide people relief from Obamacare’s broken promises.”
In addition to several key conservative reforms, this bill:
- Keeps the promise to repeal Obamacare and put in place a better system at the same time.
- Maintains strong protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Under the MacArthur Amendment, the existing statute that prohibits rating individuals based on health status remains in place and can only be waived on a state-by-state basis if a state passes a strict waiver process and sets up a sound risk-sharing or reinsurance program. If a state is granted a waiver, no person may be priced based on health status if they have maintained continuous coverage. In addition, the AHCA provides necessary resources for states to fund high-risk pools and cover costs for those with pre-existing conditions.
- Dismantles Obamacare, most notably ending the individual and employer mandates which forced millions of workers, families, and job creators into expensive Obamacare plans that they don’t want and can’t afford.
- Includes critical pro-life protections, like redirecting federal funds from going to abortion providers like Planned Parenthood to community health centers—ones that do not perform abortions and have a proven record of helping women.
- Allows states to opt-in to a traditional Medicaid block grant as well as implement work-requirements for Medicaid.Advances significant entitlement reform and returns power to the states by phasing out the Medicaid expansion and putting Medicaid on a budget, thus ending its open-ended funding and taking steps to make it solvent for future generations.
Because obscure Senate rules require that members of Congress and congressional staff be dealt with in a separate bill, the House passed partner legislation which Rep. Hudson is an original cosponsor of, H.R. 2192, that puts members of Congress and their staff under the same rules as everyone else under the AHCA.
BACKGROUND
As a member of the influential Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, Rep. Hudson is on the frontlines of health care reform in Congress and has made it a top priority to seek input from patients and health care providers. Throughout the entire process, Rep. Hudson has continued to put constituents first and share real life stories from North Carolina’s Eighth District about why we must repeal and replace Obamacare with a patient-centered, market-based health care system that prioritizes affordability, quality, and choice.
In January, Congress passed S. Con. Res. 3 to set the stage for repealing Obamacare. This paved the way for a legislative mechanism called “reconciliation.” In the Senate, such a bill is filibuster proof and requires only a simple majority to pass. After that, the Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means Committees introduced draft legislative recommendations that the Budget Committee compiled into one reconciliation package, the American Health Care Act.
The end product is a conservative bill to repeal Obamacare and rebuild a patient-centered, people-first health care system. The bill also maintains protections for patients with pre-existing conditions, allows young adults to stay on their parents’ policies until age 26 and prohibits lifetime coverage limits.
As Congress and the administration work to rebuild our health care system, there will be a stable transition period so that no one slips through the cracks. This is a thoughtful, transparent and multi-step process with three overarching phases:
- Phase one: The American Health Care Act, which takes full advantage of the budget reconciliation process to avoid a Democratic filibuster.
- Phase two: Administration actions, notably by Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, to stabilize the health insurance market, increase choices, and lower costs.
- Phase three: Additional legislative policies, such as allowing individuals to purchase coverage across state lines, that by Senate rules cannot be included in a reconciliation bill.
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Issues:Economy and JobsHealth Care