Friday, July 28, 2017
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Health Care Freedom Act, also known as the “skinny” repeal, failed to garner a simple majority in the Senate today. None of the proposals offered by Senate leaders have been able to gain enough support to pass the chamber.
The following is a statement from Betsy Imholz, Special Projects Director for Consumers Union, the policy and mobilization arm of Consumer Reports:
“The Senate’s failure to pass this repeal of the Affordable Care Act is the best thing that could have happened for consumers and our nation’s health system. This entire process has been rushed, secretive, and ill-considered, resulting in proposals that are all fundamentally flawed. Kicking millions of Americans off healthcare, driving up premiums and out-of-pocket costs, gutting Medicaid, and eliminating key consumer protections are not solutions that consumers want or deserve.
“Today’s failure should make it crystal clear: the only acceptable way forward is to work constructively in a bipartisan and transparent fashion to find ways to protect consumers, strengthen and stabilize the insurance markets, and find ways to contain healthcare costs.”