Hanabusa Votes Against House GOP's 50th Attempt to Weaken Affordable Care Act

Press Release

U.S. Representative Colleen Hanabusa (HI-01) voted against House Republicans' 50th attempt to weaken the Affordable Care Act. The measure, H.R. 4118, would result in an increase in the number of uninsured Americans and jeopardize access to affordable coverage for those with pre-existing conditions by delaying for one year the individual mandate, which requires individuals to obtain health insurance or pay a tax penalty.

"The individual mandate is a critical component of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act because it ensures that everyone has access to quality, affordable health coverage, including women and those with pre-existing conditions, while preventing insurance premiums from skyrocketing," said Hanabusa. "Because of our Prepaid Health Care Act, we in Hawaii are fortunate to have one of the lowest percentages of uninsured residents in the nation at just 8% of our population, but many other states are not so lucky. This bill delays a critical piece of the ACA which would result in higher premiums for individuals seeking health insurance coverage in the Marketplace. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office also estimates that this bill would increase the number of uninsured nationally by four million people by 2016.

"This marks the House GOP's 50th vote to weaken, undermine, or repeal the Affordable Care Act, and we just voted on a bill identical to this one back in July. This is a waste of time and taxpayer dollars and I encourage my Republican colleagues to work with Democrats to improve, rather than destroy, this historic health care law."

H.R. 4118 passed by a vote of 250-160 and now heads to the Senate. The Obama Administration has issued a veto threat for this bill.

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