Press Release – BETTER UTAH CALLS ON UTAH REPRESENTATIVES TO OPPOSE AHCA

Salt Lake City, UT – Leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives postponed a vote scheduled for later today on the American Health Care Act (AHCA).

The AHCA is House Republicans’ effort to fulfill their longtime campaign promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as “Obamacare.” Negotiations in securing sufficient Republican votes broke down as Freedom Caucus members demanded greater reforms that would move more towards a wholesale repeal, such as repealing the essential health benefits contained in the ACA. However, such changes came with the possibility of losing moderate conservative votes, as well as endangering the possibility of the legislation being able to make it through the Senate’s reconciliation process.

Chase Thomas, Better Utah’s policy and advocacy counsel, issued the following statement:

“We are happy to see the vote on the AHCA has been delayed. This piece of legislation would dramatically increase the number of uninsured individuals in our state, which is unacceptable. The changes leaders are proposing in an attempt to ram this bill as quickly as possible would greatly reduce the quality of the health insurance that is offered.

“The fact that Republicans cannot come together for this vote to fulfill an over six-year campaign promise underscores the complexity of our health insurance system. It shows lawmakers are moving too fast in trying to pass this legislation. We call on Utah’s representatives to oppose any further efforts to pass the AHCA. We urge them to instead focus on making meaningful fixes to the ACA that will not make it harder for Utahns to have access to quality and affordable healthcare.”

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