Republicans Offer Motion To Repeal Critical Provision in Affordable Care Act and Increase Premiums

Congressional Republicans continue to protect insurance companies and threaten to take us back to the failed Bush policies that left workers, families and small businesses with high premiums, denied care and lost coverage. Despite the clear benefits of the Affordable Care Act, Republican leaders have been calling for the repeal of this landmark legislation.

This afternoon, House Republicans offered a "Motion to Recommit" on unrelated small business lending legislation to repeal the shared responsibility provision in the Affordable Care Act. The Affordable Care Act ensures that all Americans have access to quality, affordable health care coverage through shared responsibility among individuals, businesses, and the government. Individuals are responsible for purchasing health insurance coverage, and most employers will be responsible for offering coverage. The Center for American Progress explains that without the shared responsibility provision, "the entire structure of reform would fail"--removing it, as the Republican Motion to Recommit would do, would:

Reduce the legislation's insurance coverage gains by more than two-thirds, so that reform would cover fewer than one-fifth of the uninsured

Cause the reduction in employer-sponsored insurance to quadruple

Raise individual premiums in the exchange by 40 percent

Rep. Rob Andrews spoke against the Republican effort to repeal health insurance reform on the floor saying "this motion is a guaranteed increase in middle class health insurance premiums for all Americans, if that's what you want you should vote for it":

The Republican motion was defeated by a vote of 187-230.

Learn more about the Affordable Care Act»