On 8th Anniversary of Affordable Care Act, Rep. Johnson Calls on GOP to End Sabotage & Work Together to Improve the ACA and Lower Americans’ Health Care Costs

DECATUR, GA – On the eighth anniversary of President Obama's signing of the Affordable Care Act, Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04) called on Republicans to stop their sabotage and instead protect and improve Americans' health care by working to lower Americans' health care costs, including taking action on Democrats' A Better Deal to Lower the Cost of Prescription Drugs proposal.

Rep. Johnson also highlighted new state-by-state data detailing the consequences of Trumpcare and the GOP sabotage effort for Georgians.

"We should be working to protect and improve Americans' health care, but Republicans in Congress are still spitefully raising health costs for families across Georgia," said Rep. Johnson. "There are 4.3 million Georgians with pre-existing conditions who rely on the ACA's landmark guarantees of coverage that Republicans keep trying to undermine. Thank goodness we defeated the monstrosity of Trumpcare, but the GOP still isn't listening to the families who are suffering because of the GOP sabotage effort and are at risk from Republicans' obsession with dismantling Medicaid and Medicare."

Nine of Georgia's Congressional Republicans voted for the House-passed version of Trumpcare that would have raised premiums, imposed an age tax on older Americans' health coverage, eliminated key protections for those with pre-existing conditions, and caused nearly 1 million Georgians to lose health coverage.

Thanks to the ACA's premium assistance subsidies, 85 percent of those who buy coverage through the health insurance marketplaces are shielded from premium hikes. However, under the GOP sabotage, the average premium hike for Georgians without premium subsidies was 48 percent between 2017 and 2018.

According to the non-partisan Urban Institute, the GOP's repeal of the individual mandate and expansion of short-term junk coverage plans that can discriminate against pre-existing conditions and do not include essential health benefits are projected to cause an additional 19 percent premium hike in 2019. These two Republican actions are to result in a projected 242,000 more Georgians without comprehensive health coverage in 2019 because they will either become uninsured or will be enrolled in junk plans that don't provide key health benefits.

"While Republican sabotage increases Georgians' health costs, the GOP tax scam is adding insult to injury by handing billions of dollars to pharmaceutical companies and other health care companies," said Rep. Johnson. "Democrats want to protect and improve Americans' health care, including with A Better Deal to Lower the Cost of Prescription Drugs, targeting the largest factor driving health cost increases in America today."

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