Largest Federal Employee Union Responds to ACA Repeal and Replace Plan

WASHINGTON, March 7, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In response to the introduction of the House's plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, American Federation of Government Employees National President J. David Cox Sr. issued the following statement:

"President Trump and his allies in Congress have shown their true colors in what is yet another attack on working families. The American Health Care Act is a cruel retraction of coverage that will end up depriving millions of Americans coverage they have come to rely on.

"This new plan does not improve the Affordable Care Act. It cuts taxes for the wealthy, and makes healthcare unaffordable – and thus inaccessible – to millions who obtained coverage on the exchanges or through Medicaid expansion.

"The Affordable Care Act, for all its success, has many of the same problems federal employees are all too familiar with.  ACA was modeled on the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), the health insurance program for federal employees and retirees, and like ACA, it's expensive and doesn't cover everybody. And like ACA, the reason it's so expensive is that it puts private health insurers in the driver's seat.

"AFGE has long been on record in support of 'single payer' national health insurance, built on the platform of Medicare. And while ACA doesn't get all the way there, it's better than nothing – and it's certainly better than the proposed legislation that leaves America's most disenfranchised behind.

"So, Mr. Ryan, if you want to replace the Affordable Care Act with something better, replace it with Medicare for all. But please, don't just cut taxes for the wealthy and call it health care for all."

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 700,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia.

For the latest AFGE news and information, visit the AFGE Media Center. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube."

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SOURCE American Federation of Government Employees