January 19, 2011
House Votes to Strip Millions of Americans of Critical Health Care Services and Patient Protections
National Minority AIDS Council urges Congress to focus on critical issues, avoid partisan symbolism
Washington, DC – Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2, titled Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act. While the Congressional Budget Office has stated that the economic impact of this legislation would be disastrous, adding billions of dollars to America’s deficit, it will also have an immediate and grave impact on the millions of Americans struggling to receive adequate health care services for themselves and their families, particularly people living with HIV/AIDS.
Among other troubling aspects of H.R. 2, this legislation would:
– Allow health insurance companies to deny coverage to people living with HIV/AIDS, and rescind coverage to those who are diagnosed
– Let insurance companies place annual and lifetime caps on coverage for people living with HIV/AIDS
– Rescind Medicaid eligibility for low-income individuals living with HIV
– Dissolve high-risk pools and insurance exchanges that allow people living with HIV/AIDS to purchase affordable insurance
– Strip prevention and wellness provisions that would increase access to HIV testing and other preventative services
“The House leadership is wasting precious time on divisive legislation that has little chance of becoming law,” said Daniel C. Montoya, Deputy Executive Director of the National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC). “The public is looking to Washington to address an economy teetering on the verge of double-dip recession, unemployment over 9 percent, and a Congress that has yet to pass a sensible budget for 2011. While today’s debate was pleasant in tone, this evening’s vote was nothing more than a return to the worst partisan excesses of our past.”
Contact: Kyle Murphy, (202) 483-6622 ext. 333
kmurphy@nmac.org