Today, Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX) welcomed the news that the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives chose to withdraw the proposed health care plan known as the American Health Care Act (AHCA).

“I opposed the Republican health care plan from the beginning, because it is financially irresponsible and morally unacceptable. Then, in late-night sessions and back room deals, some House Republicans snuck in changes to make a bad plan even worse.

The Republican plan would have:

·         Stripped health care from 24 million Americans;

·         Reduced coverage for everyone else by cutting benefits for preventive care, cancer screenings, prescription drugs, and emergency room visits;

·         Charged families to pay higher premiums and deductibles for the care they have left;

·         Forced an “age tax” on Americans 50-64, who will pay five times more than younger people;

·         Destroyed Medicaid as we know it, cutting more than $800 billion from care for the disabled and the desperately poor, including children; and

·         Stolen from Medicare by cutting the Medicare Trust Fund seniors depend on. 

Earlier this week, I held a telephone town hall meeting with members of my district, to hear their concerns about health care. One constituent, a breast cancer survivor, shared her story. She is alive today because a cancer screening found a tumor. But the Republican plan will take preventive care like cancer screenings away from many Americans, including some on employer-sponsored plans. She wondered if her neighbors and friends would die from treatable cancers, without access to those life-saving screenings.

I welcome this victory because of constituents like her.”

Groups from across the political spectrum, along with all the major medical organizations, opposed the bill, including:

·         AARP, the American Association of Retired People

·         AMA, the American Medical Association

·         The American Nurses Association

·         The National Physicians Alliance

·         The American Academy of Pediatrics

·         The American College of Physicians

·         Club for Growth (conservative)

·         Americans for Prosperity (conservative)

·         Heritage Action (conservative)

·         Center for American Progress (liberal)