Important ANA Updates Regarding Affordable Care Act

April 9, 2017

Following their failure to hold a vote on the American Health Care Act (AHCA), a fundamentally flawed bill that, according to CBO estimates, would cause millions to lose health coverage,  Congressional Republicans now head into a two-week recess with more questions than answers. 

Despite renewed negotiations, the basic dynamic hasn’t changed: changes made to garner votes from the conservative House Freedom Caucus cost votes from republican moderates, making the path to passage unclear. Proposed revisions under discussion, such as allowing states to apply for waivers from essential health benefit requirements for private insurance plans and flexibility in community rating only exacerbate ANA’s concerns.       

The AHCA’s shortcomings and the ongoing discussions underline the importance of the next two weeks when Members of Congress will be home in their districts. 

Next Steps:

It’s vital that all who are concerned about affordability and access to quality care reach out to their members of Congress to urge them to oppose the AHCA and the dangerous proposals under discussion.  We need our leaders to help improve, not undo our health care system.

Resources

--To help in your outreach, check out this comprehensive recess toolkit created by ANA coalition partner Families USA.  From tips for in-person meetings and attending town halls to speaking out on social media, there’s something for everyone who wants to get involved in the fight to #ProtectOurCare. 

--Visit  ANA’s Health Care Reform webpage , where you can find a wealth of resources including our recently released a one-pager on the Increasing Impact of Medicaid on the U.S. Health Care System.

--As always stay up to date by visiting anacapitolbeat.org  following @RNAction on Twitter and signing up for alerts on rnaction.org .