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Rep. Tonko Condemns House Republican Vote to Repeal Obamacare

"Repealing Obamacare with no plan to replace it is irresponsible and dangerous. It shows that, after seven years, Congressional Republicans still have no specific ideas how to improve the Affordable Care Act. Rather than come up with a real alternative to address America’s health care challenges, they chose again to put politics ahead of governing." - Rep. Paul Tonko

WASHINGTON – Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY) strongly denounced a vote by Congressional Republicans today to repeal the Affordable Care Act without a plan to replace it.

Rep. Tonko’s full statement:

“Repealing Obamacare with no plan to replace it is irresponsible and dangerous. It shows that, after seven years, Congressional Republicans still have no specific ideas how to improve the Affordable Care Act. Rather than come up with a real alternative to address America’s health care challenges, they chose again to put politics ahead of governing.

“Americans overwhelmingly oppose repealing the ACA without a replacement plan ready. Today’s vote threatens to rip health insurance away from more than 20 million Americans and exposes all of us, including the 150 million people that get coverage from an employer, to predatory tactics by health insurance companies. These include denying or revoking coverage for patients with pre-existing conditions and cutting off all care for patients once they hit an annual or lifetime limit.

“The budget resolution that was voted on today would also balloon the national debt to $30 trillion by 2026. It’s hard to imagine anyone thinking this is better than what we have now.

“Repealing this law will reward special interests at the expense of the vast majority of patients and doctors. It reopens the door to terrible abuses by the insurance industry that have a history of increasing costs and reducing the quality of care. And it explodes the federal deficit, creating budget shortfalls all across the country including $723 million just for the hospitals in my Congressional District alone. It does all of this to slash the taxes paid by the wealthiest 0.1% of taxpayers.

“Instead of repealing the Affordable Care Act with no replacement, Republicans and Democrats should come together to improve the law by lowering out of pocket costs for care, increasing the small business tax credit, and limiting prescription drug costs.”

 

If the ACA is repealed, thousands of people in New York’s Capital Region stand to lose health coverage:

-          25,552 people in Albany County

-          16,056 people in Schenectady County

-          16,340 people in Saratoga County

-          12,540 people in Rensselaer County

-          5,473 people in Montgomery County


Because of the way New York State funds Medicaid coverage, Capital Region county governments will face crippling budget shortfalls if the ACA is repealed:

-          Albany County: $4,738,862

-          Schenectady County: $2,462,377

-          Saratoga County: $1,864,638

-          Rensselaer County: $2,307,076

-          Montgomery County: $797,695

 

 

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