ON THIS DAY: Republicans Forced Through Legislation to Gut the Health Care Law

Three years ago, House Republicans pushed through their plan to rip apart the health care law and threaten protections for 1.8 million Georgians with pre-existing conditions

ATLANTA — Today marks three years since House Republicans forced through their toxic plan to gut the landmark health care law and threaten coverage protections for 1.8 million Georgians with pre-existing conditions — all part of an effort repeatedly pushed by top Trump ally Congressman Doug Collins and Senator David Perdue.

What would this plan have meant for Georgians?

• Over 1.8 million Georgians with pre-existing conditions could have seen massive price increases and lost access to care.
• Older Georgians would have been slapped with an “age tax”
• Over 700,000 Georgians could have lost their coverage as a result of this bill.
• Essential benefits protections ranging from maternity care to basic prescription drugs could have been gone.

After Collins backed this reckless legislation, Perdue repeatedly voted for the Senate’s own disastrous versions of this plan. And Collins’ top Republican competitor, Senator Kelly Loeffler, has already pledged to back Senate Republicans’ agenda  “100%” — including efforts to continue chipping away at Georgians’ health care coverage after the 2020 election. 

Now, despite millions of Americans without insurance during the coronavirus outbreak, Republicans are refusing to reopen health care exchanges even as Americans need access to care more than ever. And of course, Republicans are still trying to gut the health care law through a lawsuit currently pending before the Supreme Court with the Georgia GOP’s full support.

“Today is a shameful anniversary for Republicans’ anti-health care agenda and a reminder that Georgia’s Republican Senate contenders cannot be trusted to protect Americans’ coverage,” said Alex Floyd, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Georgia. “Even after their reckless legislation failed to pass the Senate, Republicans are still dedicated to their disastrous plan to gut the health care law and threaten coverage protections for over one million Georgians with pre-existing conditions. Now more than ever, Georgia families need representatives in Washington who will fight to protect their care, not cut it.”

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