Congressman Collins Votes to Repeal Obamacare, Sending Health Bill to Senate

WASHINGTON—The House today passed H.R. 1628, the American Health Care Act(AHCA). The bill repeals the individual and employer mandates of 2010’s Affordable Care Act as well as $1 trillion in Obamacare taxes.

Congressman Doug Collins (R-Ga.) released the following statement in response to the bill’s passage:

“For seven years, I have watched Obamacare afflict my neighbors with soaring insurance costs and narrowing health care options. Obamacare shattered the insurance market, and Americans now struggle first to afford insurance and then to find providers that accept it.

“Obamacare saddled businesses and individuals with mandates that robbed them of their freedom to choose health care options that make sense for them. Our families, our workers and our economy have born the weight of bureaucratized medicine for too long. The American Health Care Act removes that burden and demands compassion for both the healthy and vulnerable, the born and the unborn.

“I have seen the grief that Obamacare has brought to northeast Georgians and have worked for my entire tenure in Congress to repeal this destructive law. Republicans promised to repeal Obamacare, and the House voted to keep that promise today. I agree with the President’s call this week for us to repeal Obamacare now, and I look forward to the Senate’s getting to work on this crucial bill.”

Additionally, this legislation returns to states the flexibility they need to serve their communities. The AHCA provides more generous Medicaid reimbursements for elderly and disabled enrollees while Obamacare prioritized able-bodied individuals over disabled Americans by assigning proportionately more Medicaid dollars to the healthy. It establishes a federal invisible risk sharing program to stabilize insurance markets, lower premiums and protect individuals with pre-existing conditions.

The AHCA represents the first major entitlement reform in U.S. history by ending Medicaid’s expansion while shoring up the program for the disabled and elderly Americans it was meant to serve.

This legislation also defunds Planned Parenthood.