Congresswoman Matsui Votes Against Two Bills to Defund Portions of Health Care Law
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
CONTACT: MARA LEE
(202) 225-7163
Congresswoman Matsui Votes Against Two Bills to Defund Portions of Health Care Law
Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA) voted against two bills this week that would defund portions of the Affordable Care Act. The first, H.R. 1213, would repeal all federal funding to assist states with establishing Health Insurance Exchanges and passed the House on Tuesday. The second, H.R. 1214, would repeal funds for the equipping, renovation, or construction of school-based health centers, and passed the House Wednesday. During the Energy and Commerce Committee's consideration of H.R. 1213 in April, on which Congresswoman Matsui serves, she offered an amendment which highlighted that the Exchanges would help ensure that health plans provided preventive care at no cost-share to consumers on the Exchange which would be the case when these Health Insurance Exchanges are set up in 2014.
H.R. 1213 would not only take away states ability to make decisions about their own Health Benefit Exchanges, and reverse the progress that states such as California have already made in establishing their own Exchanges, it would also undermine a number of important consumer protections that these Exchanges would provide, stated Congresswoman Matsui. Exchanges would create competition in the marketplace, drive down costs, and ensure that critical insurance market reforms, such as not denying coverage based on a preexisiting condition and not charging more based on gender, are upheld.
Congresswoman Matsui was also an outspoken opponent of H.R. 1214 during Committee consideration. She has visited school-based health clinics in Sacramento, including White Rock Family Clinic, and saw firsthand the benefits these clinics provide for children and families. These centers particularly serve children and adolescents in need those who often do not have access to family doctors of their own.
School-based health centers are often the only available source of primary care for low-income children and adolescents, Matsui added. Without access to such facilities, childhood risk factors can go untreated and become chronic conditions later in life conditions that are costly to our nation's health and its pocketbook. This legislation would frankly put the wellbeing of millions of children at risk.
To learn more about Congresswoman Matsui's work on health care, visit www.matsui.house.gov/healthcare.
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