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Allred Pushes for Bill to Lower Costs and Expand Coverage, Urges Administration to Drop Federal Lawsuit to Gut ACA

June 24, 2020

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Colin Allred (TX-32) joined House leaders to urge passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act. The bill's announcement comes as the Administration continues to pursue its federal lawsuit that would repeal the entirety of the Affordable Care Act. Allred led the effort in the House to push back against this lawsuit.

"My top priority since I came to Congress has been to stop the sabotage on Texans' health care and fight to lower costs across the board," said Allred. "This pandemic has made clearer than ever the failings of our health care system. We must do all we can to help more folks get access to affordable coverage. I urge the Administration, and all my colleagues to support ending the attacks on the Affordable Care Act and join our effort to help the American people."

Click here to watch Allred's remarks at today's press conference

The bill includes provisions to lower costs and increase access and includes a measure similar to one led by Congressman Marc Veasey (TX-33) and cosponsored by Allred that would incentivize states to expand Medicaid. Expanding Medicaid in Texas would result in more than 1 million Texans gaining coverage.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act:

Cracks down on junk plans and strengthens protections for people with pre-existing conditions

  • Reverses the Administration's expansion of junk health insurance plans that do not provide coverage for essential medical treatments and drugs, and that are allowed to discriminate against people with pre-existing medical conditions.
  • Curtails efforts to give states waivers to undermine protections for people with pre-existing conditions and weaken standards for essential health benefits.

Expands coverage and pushes hold-out states, like Texas, to adopt Medicaid expansion

  • Presses Medicaid expansion hold-out states to reconsider by renewing the ACA's original expanded federal matching for states that adopt the Medicaid expansion.

Lowers Americans' health coverage costs

  • Expands tax credits to lower Americans' Marketplace health insurance premiums and allow more middle-class individuals to qualify for subsidies – no person will pay more than 8.5 percent of their income on a silver plan in the Marketplaces.
  • Ensures that families who don't have an offer of affordable family coverage from an employer can qualify for subsidies in the Marketplaces.
  • Provides funding for reinsurance initiatives to further lower premiums, deductibles, and other out-of-pocket costs.

Combats inequity in health coverage faced by communities of color

  • Fights the maternal mortality epidemic by requiring states to extend Medicaid or CHIP coverage to new mothers for 1-year post-partum.
  • Protects vulnerable populations from losing health coverage by ensuring that Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries receive a full 12 months of coverage once enrolled, protecting them from interruptions due to fluctuations in their income throughout the year.
  • Improves Medicaid beneficiaries' access to primary care physicians, by reauthorizing the ACA's increased payments to primary care physicians who treat Medicaid recipients.

Negotiates lower prescription drug prices

  • Includes the drug price negotiation mechanism from the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, (H.R. 3), which would deliver immense savings to taxpayers, employers, workers and patients.