The House is rushing through a vote on a bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which would cut coverage for 14 million people in the next year and could affect Medicaid benefits for 12.9 million women.
In response to the scheduled vote, Physicians for Reproductive Health Advocacy Fellow Dr. Diane Horvath-Cosper issued the following statement:
“The proposed ACA repeal bill is terrible for women. It puts comprehensive reproductive health care out of reach for millions of women, especially low-income women, by attacking Medicaid, Planned Parenthood, and abortion coverage.”
“Today, on the seventh anniversary of the day the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, Congress could vote to take away the ACA’s lifesaving coverage. The proposed ACA repeal bill is terrible for women. It puts comprehensive reproductive health care out of reach for millions of women, especially low-income women, by attacking Medicaid, Planned Parenthood, and abortion coverage. Even more alarming, there are reports of amendments to the bill that would strip out the essential health benefits of the ACA, including the guaranteed coverage of pregnancy, newborn care, and prescription drug coverage in insurance plans. Our patients deserve more consideration than a reckless bill that will do more harm than good. Whether or not this bill passes, it’s reprehensible that any of our elected officials would vote to reduce Americans’ health care coverage.”