(Washington, DC) – Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) voted in support of H.R. 1425, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act, legislation to strengthen the Affordable Care Actand make health care and prescription drugs more affordable.  This legislation passed with bipartisan support, 234-179.

“For people across our district, concerns about health care are paramount.  We need to continue building on the progress of the Affordable Care Act to lower health costs and prescription drug prices, especially as our communities combat the public health crisis of COVID-19,” said Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher.  “The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act expands access to health care, protects people with pre-existing conditions, and lowers prescription drug prices.  It also encourages states that haven’t expanded Medicaid, such as Texas, to finally do so.  I was proud to vote in support of this legislation and I will continue working in Congress to protect and strengthen health care for people across Texas’ Seventh Congressional District.”

Throughout her time in Congress, Congresswoman Fletcher has fought to increase access to health care and lower the costs of prescription drugs.  Congresswoman Fletcher cosponsored and voted to pass H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act.  The bill gives Medicare the power to negotiate the cost of prescription drugs, extends those lower prices to private payers, and caps out-of-pocket medication expenses for seniors at $2,000 a year.  This legislation now awaits Senate consideration.  In February, Congresswoman Fletcher hosted a community conversation on health care, focused on the rising costs of prescription drugs, at Memorial Drive United Methodist Church West Campus.

Specifically, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act:  

Lowers health coverage costs and caps premiums: Expands the ACA’s insurance affordability by:

• Expanding tax credits to lower Americans’ Marketplace health insurance premiums and allow more middle-class individuals and families to qualify for subsidies – for the first time, no person will pay more than 8.5 percent of their income on a silver plan in the Marketplaces:
• Ensuring that families who don’t have an offer of affordable family coverage from an employer can qualify for subsidies in the Marketplaces.
• Providing funding for reinsurance initiatives to further lower premiums, deductibles, and other out-of-pocket costs.
• Negotiates for lower prescription drug prices: Delivers the power to negotiate lower drug prices so that Americans would no longer have pay more for medicine than pharmaceutical companies charge overseas.
• Expands coverage: Encourages Medicaid expansion hold-out states to adopt coverage for the 4.8 million Americans and restores the outreach and advertising funding cut by this Administration to prevent Americans from learning about health coverage available to them through the ACA.
• Cracks down on junk plans and strengthens protections for people with pre-existing conditions: Reverses the Administration’s expansion of junk health insurance plans that are allowed to discriminate against people with pre-existing medical conditions and that do not provide coverage for essential medical treatments and drugs. 
• Combats inequity in health coverage faced by communities of color: Expands more affordable coverage to vulnerable populations and requires states to extend Medicaid or CHIP coverage to new mothers for a full year post-partum.

A factsheet on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act can be found here.