House Votes to Repeal the Affordable Care Act
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In the latest futile effort to get rid of a law that benefits millions of women, the House voted this afternoon to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the new health care law that has already provided coverage to millions of women and families across the country. This vote marked the 31st attempt (yes, that’s right 31 tries) to completely repeal, defund, or dismantle specific benefits of the Affordable Care Act. That’s a whole month’s worth of attempts! And of course, it will never happen with President Obama standing strong for his signature law. So why do they keep trying?
Politicians like House Speaker John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and opponents of women’s health like Mitt Romney want to turn back the clock and take away provisions that have already benefited more than 45 million women. And they recently admitted they have no intention or plan to replace Obamacare if it were repealed.
Repealing health care reform would mean denying millions of young adults the opportunity to stay on their parents’ insurance (a benefit that has already helped 3.1 million young people). It would mean people could once again be discriminated against for pre-existing conditions like cancer and even pregnancy. It would mean that preventive care, like cancer screenings and birth control, would not be covered with no co-pays. Insurance companies could once again resume their practice of discriminating against women by charging up to 150 percent more in premiums.
It’s time to let it go. A majority of Americans agree — a poll days after the Supreme Court decision came down found that the public thinks this is settled law and we should move on.
Notably, while the House was debating whether to repeal the law, Governor Mitt Romney was speaking to the NAACP convention in Houston. His pledge to repeal Obamacare drew sustained boos from the crowd. Perhaps it’s time that opponents of women’s health realize Americans want to move forward, not back!
