193 House Republicans Voted Against the Affordable Insulin Now Act
Washington DC — Last night, the House of Representatives passed the Affordable Insulin Now Act, which caps out-of-pocket insulin costs for millions of diabetics with private insurance and Medicare coverage. Every single Democrat voted for the legislation, while the vast majority of Republicans voted against lower health care costs. In response, Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement:
“Republicans’ war on lowering health care costs continues. No one should have to choose between putting food on the table and affording the insulin they need to survive. By voting against lower insulin costs, the GOP is marching in lockstep with Big Pharma and all of the special interests that want to keep profits high without any regard for the needs of the American people. While President Biden and Democrats are fighting tirelessly to lower health care costs, Republicans are following their same old playbook: calling for health care repeal, raising costs, and opposing any real solutions to put more money in the pockets of working families.”
REPUBLICAN LEADERS ARE PUSHING TO RAISE HEALTH CARE COSTS AND GUT THE ACA
NRSC Chairman Sen. Rick Scott has rolled out a disastrous agenda for a Republican Senate majority that includes “sunsetting” every federal law after five years – this would include the Affordable Care Act and its protections for millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions as well as the crucial lifelines of Social Security and Medicare.
Every Republican on the Senate Finance committee signed a letter opposing the extending of ACA tax credits included in the American Rescue Plan set to expire at the end of 2022. Premium savings under the American Rescue Plan benefit millions of Americans who buy health insurance on their own and save families an average of $2,400 a year. Days later, the Republicans on the House Education and Labor Committee claiming that the ACA is a “failure” and suggesting that it should be repealed.
On March 31, nearly every Republican in the House voted for higher insulin costs by opposing the Affordable Insulin Now Act, legislation that caps out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 a month for millions of diabetics with private insurance and Medicare coverage.
REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE RUNNING ON REPEAL
Arizona: Major candidates for Senate are cheerleaders for repeal. State Attorney General and Senate candidate Mark Brnovich was one of the lead attorneys general seeking to overturn the entire ACA in 2018. Blake Masters called the ACA a “disaster” and Jim Lamon is actively campaigning against the law, proposing to “redesign or eliminate” Obamacare as part of his platform.
Colorado: Three out of four Republican candidates running for the new Eighth District in Colorado have pledged to repeal the ACA. Tyler Alcorn, a former Green Beret; Lori Saine, a Weld County commissioner; and state Thornton Mayor Jan Kulmann all said they would repeal Obamacare if Republicans took control of the House.
Florida: Sen. Marco Rubio has repeatedly voted for ACA repeal plans. And he refused to condemn Florida’s involvement in the GOP lawsuit to fully dismantle the law and its coverage protection for Americans with pre-existing conditions.
Missouri: Senate Candidate and Attorney General Eric Schmitt was another leader seeking to overturn the entire ACA in the courts in 2018. Reps. Billy Long and Vicky Hartzler, who are also running for Senate, are longtime opponents of the ACA and voted for the 2017 AHCA GOP repeal plan that would have slashed coverage protections and driven up costs. And Eric Greitens has backed GOP ACA repeal plans for years. In the state house, Republicans continue to drag their feet and erect barriers to Medicaid expansion in Missouri, years after voters cleared it in a referendum.
Nevada: Senate Candidate Adam Laxalt has campaigned against the Affordable Care Act for years, calling it the “most flawed piece of major legislation America has ever endured.” Laxalt, who owns tens of thousands of dollars in Big Pharma stock, has also opposed efforts to give Medicare the authority to negotiate lower prescription drug prices.
North Carolina: Two Republican Senate candidates in North Carolina – Ted Budd and Mark Walker – supported the 2017 GOP AHCA repeal plan, voting to gut pre-existing condition coverage protections and let insurance companies charge older Americans more for coverage. And former Governor Pat McCrory, now running for Senate himself, spent his term in office working feverishly to block Medicaid expansion in North Carolina.
Ohio: Every GOP Senate candidate in Ohio has spent years cheerleading for repeal of the ACA. In 2012, Josh Mandel said he was “hopeful” that he would be the deciding vote to repeal the ACA. Jane Tiken first got involved in politics because of her zeal to repeal Obamacare. In 2017, Mike Gibbons called the law “a disaster” and said “after we repeal ObamaCare, we need to start from scratch.” And on his campaign website in 2022, Matt Dolan continues to claim that the ACA was “conceived wrongly, implemented poorly and has become a tool of partisan grift.”
Pennsylvania: Dr. Mehmet Oz spent years supporting the ACA and promoting enrollment, but now that he’s running for Senate as a Republican, he calls the ACA “wrong” and says he “would not have voted for Obamacare.”
Wisconsin: Sen. Ron Johnson said in March 2022 that Republicans should repeal the ACA if they retake the Senate following on his comments from 2021 when he said he regrets that Republicans have failed to eliminate the law. Meanwhile Republicans in the state house continue to block Medicaid expansion in Wisconsin.