Press Releases

 Congresswoman Gwen Moore Votes in Support of Legislation to Improve Health Care Access and Affordability and Fight Health Care Disparities

Today, Congresswoman Moore cast her vote in support of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act, legislation that will lower the cost of health care and prescription drugs, , increase access to health insurance, including by encouraging states that have not extended Medicaid to do so, reduce health care inequities including tackling the maternal mortality crisis, and reverse the Trump's Administration's sabotage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In response, Congresswoman Moore released the following statement:

"During this public health and economic crisis, an estimated nearly 27 million Americans have lost employer-sponsored insurance or are at risk of losing it.

Yet, in the middle of a pandemic, when its arguable more critical now than ever to maintain and improve access to affordable care, the Trump Administration is recklessly asking the Supreme Court to declare the entire ACA invalid, proving there is no limit to this Administration’s cruelty and callousness. A repeal of the ACA threatens the insurance coverage of nearly 20 million Americans and would result in sharp increases in premiums and out-of-pocket costs.

I am so proud of the provisions in this bill that address health inequities, including provisions to fight the maternal mortality epidemic by requiring states to extend Medicaid or CHIP coverage to new mothers for 1-year post-partum. This bill also encourages any remaining states to expand their Medicaid programs by renewing the expanded federal payment match from the ACA. One fact that illustrations why this is so important is the fact that Medicaid finances nearly half of all births and provides more than one in three children with a chance at a healthy start in life. Consider also that 70 percent of all nursing home residents rely on Medicaid.

Additional key ways this bill works for the people include:

• Acting to lower Americans’ health coverage costs (for example, by expanding tax credits to lower Americans’ Marketplace health insurance premiums and allowing more middle-class individuals and families to qualify for subsidies);
• Strengthening network adequacy by requiring the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to promulgate quantitative network adequacy standards for qualified health plans on the Federally-Facilitated Marketplace;
• Instituting a transformational drug price negotiation mechanism to deliver prescription drug savings to Americans so we aren’t paying exorbitant prices compared to other countries; 
• Expanding federal matching for states that adopt the Medicaid expansion to reach the more than 4.8 million Americans cruelly left behind in hold-out states and progressively reducing administrative FMAP for those who continue to refuse;
• Protecting vulnerable populations from losing health coverage by ensuring that Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries receive a full 12 months of coverage once enrolled; and
• Funding for states who want to establish their own state-based Marketplaces.

I am supporting House Democrats in the passage of this legislation because my values compel me to continue working to strengthen and expand the ACA. Our values are why House Democrats will continue fighting tooth and nail to protect and build upon this lifeline so that the American people prevail over the immorality of the Trump Administration – acting to rip care away for millions when it's needed most."

Read the full text of the legislation here.

Read a section by section of the legislation here.