U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler Statement on House Health Care Bill

Press Release

Today, Jaime Herrera Beutler released the following statement regarding The American Health Care Act:

"I remain steadfast in my commitment to repeal and replace Obamacare with health care solutions that better serve all residents of Southwest Washington. But we can do better than the current House replacement plan, and I cannot support it in its current form.

"While I appreciate this week's effort by Speaker Ryan and his leadership team to better protect older Americans from health care cost increases, the difficulties this bill would create for millions of children were left unaddressed. I'm disappointed that it appears my amendment to strengthen the Medicaid safety net for the kids who depend on it for their health care will not be considered. Protecting vulnerable children is a core purpose of the Medicaid program and when the program fails to do so, it fails entirely. I will not vote to let those kids fall through the cracks.

"Southwest Washington residents also deserve a greater commitment to lowering health costs so that out-of-pocket expenses, premiums and taxes are taking up less of their monthly paychecks. Congress should more purposefully move ahead with free market reforms that increase competition between insurance providers and drive down premiums and deductibles. Obamacare also levied numerous taxes on hardworking Americans, and in our effort to pull back this harmful law we should more quickly repeal them.

"In the final analysis, this bill falls short. We can't give up on replacing Obamacare with a solution that provides affordable, high-quality health care to all Americans. I will remain active and engaged at every step until Congress gets this right."

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