May 4, 2017

For Immediate Release

Statement of Prince George’s County Councilman Mel Franklin on the House Passage of “Trumpcare” Legislation

Republican Replacement for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Would Cost Lives if it Becomes Law

Contact: Mel@melfranklin.net

Today, the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.1628 (“Trumpcare”), a Republican replacement to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Affordable Care Act”) backed by President Donald Trump, without any scoring by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) of the bill’s cost or reduced insurance coverage for working families.  Over the last six (6) years, the Affordable Care Act has cut the overall uninsured rate in the United States from 15.7% to 8.6% and, among those ages 18-64, from 22.3% to 11.9%, including reducing the number of uninsured residents in Prince George’s County by 50% in just the last three (3) years.  Previous CBO scoring of Trumpcare projected it would cost 24 million Americans their health insurance coverage.  County Councilman Mel Franklin (D-District 9) issued the following statement:

“Today’s passage of Trumpcare by the Republican-led House of Representatives is an extreme right-wing attack on the middle class, the poor, the sick, and the elderly.  Passing this bill before anyone knows how much it will cost and how many people it will leave uninsured is one of the most irresponsible acts in the history of the U.S. Congress.  Trumpcare eviscerates protections against discrimination for pre-existing conditions and it allows for a huge tax on the elderly and the sick by insurance companies.  Trumpcare will cost lives and hurt working families.  I strongly urge the Republican U.S. Senate to avoid bringing economic catastrophe to one sixth of the U.S. economy and reject Trumpcare for the well-being of all Americans.”

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