McAuliffe statement on healthcare proceedings in Congress

Governor Terry McAuliffe released the following statement today following the congressional vote on healthcare legislation.

“This morning, the United States Senate closed another embarrassing chapter in the effort to repeal a health care law that is making life better for millions of people across our country.  This vote was a victory for the millions of Americans who made their voices heard in support of more affordable and accessible health care – but the work is just beginning.

“Following today’s vote, President Trump made an inexcusable suggestion that the Affordable Care Act should be allowed to fail before Republicans take any action to improve it. That course will threaten the health and economic opportunity of people who elected their leaders to solve problems, not to retreat to their corners like petulant children.

“The Affordable Care Act is a vast improvement over the status quo that preceded it and all of the proposals that Republicans have put forward to repeal or replace it – but it does need improvements. The path forward must include stabilizing our marketplace by establishing a reinsurance program for the ACA and making cost-sharing reduction (CSR) payments permanent. There are many other attractive proposals that could be passed to make health care more affordable and accessible if leaders in Washington will simply work together to get things done.

“It is worth mentioning that some of the difficulty the ACA is experiencing is being caused by the uncertainty the Republicans have created with the disastrous process that they have followed on health care so far. If they care at all about actually helping the people who entrusted them with their seats, they will drop these backroom efforts to undermine the law and work with Democrats in Washington and governors across the country to improve the Affordable Care Act.

“Since they took office in January, President Trump and Republicans in congress have failed the American people on this issue and many others – but there is still time to right the ship and do the right thing for our country.”