Issued February 16, 2017
WASHINGTON, D.C.—SEIU International President Mary Kay Henry issued the following statement in response to GOP proposal to replace the Affordable Care Act that would instead make healthcare more expensive and harder to obtain:
“Self-interested politicians at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue and their corporate backers are continuing to push an extreme agenda that put profits ahead of the health of working Americans. For Congress and the administration to promise more affordable healthcare, greater financial security, and the ability to drive our own healthcare decisions while putting forward a piecemeal healthcare proposal is an insult to working people who are fed up with an economic and political system that’s rigged against them. With the looming threat of repeal, millions of Americans have been waking up every day to the same insecurity and dread: will I be able to keep my healthcare? Will my loved one be denied care due to a pre-existing condition? Will I be able to pay for my child’s medications? What we saw today does nothing to alleviate their fears.
“This proposal would increase healthcare costs for working people like Tonia McMillan, a child care provider who relies upon regular thyroid medicine to stay healthy for the young children she cares for. It would take away the healthcare security that has given Americans like Tonia peace of mind, decimate the Medicaid program that seniors, veterans and people with disabilities count on and cost our country more jobs.
“Congressional Republicans have had seven years to improve and strengthen the foundation of the the Affordable Care Act. This proposal is far too little and much too late. SEIU members, our families and our communities will continue to stand up and speak out until we no longer have to worry about losing our health, our jobs or our futures.”