In response to the congressional bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Physicians for Reproductive Health Board Chair Dr. Willie Parker issued the following statement:
“The bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act is a direct attack on many Americans’ access to health care and is especially devastating to women’s health. The repeal removes assistance that makes health care more affordable for families, puts a target on abortion coverage through private insurance, and blocks access for millions of women with Medicaid to vital preventive care through Planned Parenthood health centers.
Already, I see too many women who are denied abortion care because of their income and how that directly affects their well-being. This bill would chip away at many women’s ability to have insurance coverage for their medical needs and is the opposite of what my patients need for themselves and their families.
Many communities rely on Planned Parenthood for birth control, cancer screenings, and other vital preventive care. For people who rely on Medicaid coverage—including people of color, people with low incomes, and those who live in rural areas—and already face obstacles to getting health care, removing Planned Parenthood as an option would put essential health services further out of reach.
Every day, my colleagues and I see how the Affordable Care Act has improved our patients’ lives. To take away the assistance that the ACA provides is reprehensible, and it will be particularly damaging for patients from low- and moderate-income families. Repealing affordable care is to, in many ways, place care beyond the reach of people who can least afford to be without it. Our patients deserve better from Congress.”
