Washington DC — Today, President Biden made a speech in Virginia Beach, VA to call out Republicans for their recent threats to slash Medicaid and dismantle the Affordable Care Act (ACA). For months Republicans have openly stated their goal for their House majority – to gut health care programs rather than make companies and the wealthy pay their fair share.
Republicans have promised to defund Medicare and Medicaid, and to repeal the Affordable and the Inflation Reduction Act. Recent press reports indicate that GOP lawmakers have been meeting with Russ Vought, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget under former President Trump, as they begin to draft a budget to use as part of their threat to tank the economy and default on the nation’s debt if President Biden doesn’t agree to slash health care and other programs.
Vought’s plan cuts $2 trillion from Medicaid and guts the Affordable Care Act, eliminating protections for pre-existing conditions, ripping coverage from 20 million Americans who rely on Medicaid, and raising premiums for nearly 15 million Americans who receive premium tax credits that make coverage affordable. Vought’s plan would be catastrophic for the American people and disproportionately impact children, rural Americans, and people of color. People will lose their health insurance and important benefits like preventive services and maternity care, and pay more for prescription drugs and insurance premiums.
In response, Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach issued the following statement:
“President Biden made it clear in his remarks today that he and Congressional Democrats are not going to let Republicans hold our economy and the American people hostage. Republicans are doubling down on their long history of attacking ACA and Medicaid through their budget proposals, which disproportionately affects rural Americans, people with disabilities, and communities of color. The GOP plan would be disastrous for our country, effectively repealing the ACA, driving up costs for almost 15 million Americans and eliminating coverage altogether for more than 20 million people while also removing vital protections for millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions.
“President Biden won’t let the American people’s access to affordable health care be stripped away to justify an extreme right-wing budget. It’s the same old story, Democratic lawmakers want to expand health care while Republicans want to rip it away from the most vulnerable.”
BACKGROUND