Lauds Passage of the Affordable Health Care for America Act

H.R. 3962 brings meaningful and comprehensive health insurance reform

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT) today applauded passage of the Affordable Health Care for America Act.

"I am extraordinarily proud to have cast a vote today in favor of H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act. This historic legislation will finally bring about the meaningful, comprehensive health insurance reform American families have been waiting for.

"When this bill becomes law, insurance companies will no longer be able to deny coverage based on preexisting conditions, cut off people's plans when they are sick, or inflate premiums based on gender. Preventive, wellness, and maternity care will now be covered, the "donut hole" in Medicare coverage will be closed, and our deficit will be reduced by $129 billion. And along with the Health Insurance Exchange, a new public health insurance option will introduce real competition into the health insurance market and help reduce premiums across the board.

"I am particularly proud that two transparency provisions I earlier introduced were included in the Affordable Health Care for America Act – menu labeling and unprecedented transparency in the insurance market. After this bill is enacted, consumers will now know upfront the caloric and dietary information of the food they eat outside the home, and they will be able to obtain the basic coverage facts of all health insurance policies before signing on the dotted line.

In short, I am very proud of what we accomplished for the American people today, and look forward to working with our colleagues in the Senate on an equally good bill out of conference."

Congresswoman DeLauro's full floor statement on the Affordable Health Care for America Act is below:

Mr. Speaker, I rise at this historic moment in support of the Affordable Health Care for America Act.

None of us will again have such an opportunity in our time serving the U.S. Congress to do something so enduring and fulfilling – to make sure every American, as a right of citizenship, shall have access to quality, affordable health insurance.

For more than a century, the special interests have won this moment. Presidents Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy, Nixon and Clinton have spoken of our country's aspiration, but only now have we come so far.

When Democrats and Congress passed Medicare, we lifted seniors out of poverty forever and now we get to say to working Americans, you no longer can be broken by a health insurance system that drops you when you are sick or lose a job. It says to women, you will no longer be denied coverage on account of a C-section or domestic violence. No longer will maternity or preventive care be ignored.

I urge my colleagues to vote for history and for America today. This is why we are here.