WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Stephen F. Lynch (D-Boston) released the following statement on the so-called American Health Care Act:

“House Republican leadership and President Trump hastily pushed this legislation forward without public hearings and with very limited debate. We heard loud and clear from the families we represent that Trumpcare would put their access to healthcare at risk.

Trumpcare did not have working families, children, Americans with disabilities, or seniors in mind. Trumpcare would have been a disaster for Massachusetts – potentially jeopardizing coverage for nearly 500,000 Massachusetts residents and costing the Commonwealth nearly $2 billion in federal funding. It would have destroyed Medicaid as we know it and taken funds that seniors depend on from the Medicare Trust Fund. Trumpcare would have defunded Planned Parenthood – putting women’s access to preventative health services, cancer screenings and contraception at risk. House Republicans were focused on tax cuts for the richest Americans, while pushing the cost of healthcare onto middle-income earners and the states. And to make matters worse, they would have dropped Medicaid coverage for substance abuse and mental health services, threatening efforts to address the opioid abuse epidemic across the country. We still need to make high quality healthcare more affordable and accessible for all Americans; Trumpcare would have done the opposite.

Since Republican leadership pulled the bill from floor consideration, I hope my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will now take into account how the American people have reacted to their so-called plan and I call for a sincere, bipartisan effort to make needed improvements to the Affordable Care Act.”