Congressman Cleaver Votes For Patient Protection & Affordable Care Enhancement Act

Press Release

Last night, United States Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) voted in favor of H.R. 1425, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act, House Democrats' new legislation to build on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to lower health costs and prescription drug prices. The bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 234-179 and comes less than one week after the Trump Administration filed a brief asking the Supreme Court to strike down the entirety of the ACA.

"My Democratic colleagues and I are keenly aware that we were swept into the House Majority in 2018 in no small part due to demands that Congress lower drug costs and protect healthcare for the American people, not take it away," said Congressman Cleaver. "With this legislation--and since the commencement of the 116th Congress--we are working adamantly to strengthen and build upon the Affordable Care Act, which will drive down drug costs and ensure that millions more of our fellow Americans have sufficient, affordable health care."

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act will make several reforms to current health care law that will lower prescription drug prices and expand access to healthcare, including:

Increasing the ACA's affordability subsidies to be more generous and cover more middle-class families. For the first time, no person will have to pay more than 8.5 percent of their income for a benchmark silver plan in the ACA marketplaces, and many Americans will see their premiums cut in half or more:
A family of four earning $40,000 would save nearly $1,600 in premiums each year.
A 64-year-old earning $57,420 would save more than $8,700 in premiums each year.
A single adult with income of $31,900 would see premiums cut in half.
An adult earning $19,140 would see premiums cut to zero, saving $800 dollars a year.

Negotiating for lower prescription drug prices by delivering the power to negotiate lower drug prices so that Americans no longer have to pay more for our medicines than Big Pharma charges for the same drugs overseas. According to projections from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), drugs subject to negotiation will see price reductions of up to 55 percent.

Expanding coverage by pressing Medicaid expansion hold-out states with new carrots and sticks to adopt coverage for the 4.8 million Americans cruelly excluded from coverage, while restoring the outreach and advertising funding that the Trump Administration has slashed to prevent Americans from learning about the affordable health coverage available to them under the ACA.

Combating inequity in health coverage faced by communities of color by expanding more affordable coverage to vulnerable populations and fighting the maternal mortality epidemic by requiring states to extend Medicaid or CHIP coverage to new mothers for a full year post-partum.

Cracking down on junk plans & strengthening protections for people with pre-existing conditions by reversing the Trump 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.

"Missouri families are pleading with Congress to take decisive action on the out-of-control rise in prescription drug prices, especially during a global pandemic," Congressman Cleaver continued. "I'm proud to support this legislation, which will expand health care, lower prescription drug costs, and strengthen the ACA for years to come. Now, I call on my colleagues in the Senate to listen to the American people and pass this bill."

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