January 4, 2017
Washington, DC — As Republican leaders in Congress are taking their first steps today (1/4/17) to begin repealing the health care law without a plan to replace it, U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly said in a video message that now is the time to improve the health care system and colleagues should abandon efforts to take away health coverage from Hoosiers and Americans. To watch Donnelly’s video message, click here.
Donnelly said, “I have long said that the health care law is not perfect, and I have offered many ways we can improve it. I have been willing to work with anyone—Republican or Democrat—to improve the health care system in our country. But what I won’t do is support any effort that would create chaos in the insurance marketplace, increasing premiums and taking away insurance from over 20 million Americans.
“We all know someone with cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s or another terrible disease. In Indiana, 2.5 million Hoosiers with pre-existing conditions like these now cannot be denied health care coverage. But if Republicans move forward with repealing the health care law without a plan, thousands of Hoosiers could unnecessarily lose coverage and access to their doctors.
“…I have always said that we achieve a whole lot more by working together, and I’m confident we can do just that if Republicans will join with us to improve the health care system and abandon efforts to take away health coverage from Hoosiers and Americans.”
In Indiana, more than 400,000 Hoosiers currently have health insurance coverage thanks to the Affordable Care Act. And under the health care law, Governor Mike Pence established the HIP 2.0 program, which provided insurance to over 200,000 Hoosiers, a program that has been critical to collective efforts to address the opioid abuse and heroin use epidemics in Indiana.
Click here to watch the Senator’s video statement.