Today, Congressman Cuellar (TX-28) responded to the independent Congressional Budget Office’s assessment that the American Health Care Act (AHCA), which was passed by the House of Representatives and has been sent to the Senate for consideration, will leave 23 million Americans uninsured. (Assessment can be viewed here: https://www.cbo.gov/publication/52752)

He said:

“I voted against the AHCA because it was clear it would hurt the people of my district. I represent one of the highest uninsured populations in Congress, especially in our more rural communities. I have been fighting to make sure they can get the care they need and deserve. Instead, according to the Congressional Budget Office this bill will leave 23 million Americans without coverage. We’re going backwards, not forwards.

In March, 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 hope our Senators hear stories like these, and reject AHCA in its current form. We should be focusing on fixing the problems with our current system, and expanding health care to more folks who need it, instead of cutting it away.”