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Statement of ACAP CEO Margaret A. Murray on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 29, 2020
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Caroline Rourke, 202-204-7514; crourke@communityplans.net
STATEMENT OF ACAP CEO MARGARET A. MURRAY ON THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT ENHANCEMENT ACT
WASHINGTON—Margaret A. Murray, Chief Executive Officer of the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP), made the following statement on the scheduled vote in the House of Representatives on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Enhancement Act, scheduled for a vote today in the U.S. House of Representatives:
“When the House of Representatives votes on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act, it will vote for the first time to provide the same protections for people with Medicaid that people in Medicare and commercial insurance take for granted: a guarantee of stable health care coverage.
“Since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, ACAP has urged Congress to provide twelve months of continuous Medicaid and CHIP eligibility for people who rely on these programs. This legislation delivers. No more will Americans with Medicaid and CHIP coverage be subject to the whims of state bureaucracies that seek to cut Medicaid rolls by making beneficiaries jump through hoops or filling out burdensome paperwork. No more will an American with Medicaid have to make the wrenching choice between working overtime to make a few extra dollars or losing their health coverage. If signed into law, those days are over.
“ACAP has long supported the bipartisan Stabilize Medicaid and CHIP Coverage Act, introduced by Representatives Joe Kennedy and John Katko as H.R. 1879 in the House and Senator Sherrod Brown as S. 873 in the Senate. We applaud the House of Representatives for supporting this common-sense policy. We also applaud provisions rescinding of the Administration’s regulation expanding short-term limited-duration insurance plans.
“Twelve months of continuous Medicaid and CHIP eligibility is the right thing to do for the American people – particularly now at a time when health care coverage is so tenuous but also so very necessary.
“We applaud Congress for their leadership and urge this bill’s passage in the House of Representatives.”
About ACAP:
ACAP represents 77 health plans, which collectively provide health coverage to more than 20 million people. Safety Net Health Plans serve their members through Medicaid, Medicare, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Marketplace and other publicly-sponsored health programs. For more information, visit www.communityplans.net.
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