WASHINGTON – In an analysis by the Center for American Progress of the recent “Pledge to America,” unveiled by the Republican leadership, CAP highlights one particular policy proposal by the Republicans of concern. This policy proposal includes repealing the Affordable Health Care Act of 2009.
How the Republican’s pledge to repeal health care reform would impact the African American community:
- The “Pledge to America” would replace health care reform with a grab bag of isolated measures that mostly benefit those who already have health care coverage.
- Their pledge to repeal health care reform includes no plans to expand coverage to help those who cannot afford health insurance. This would include repealing Medicaid expansions, financial help to small businesses struggling with the costs of employee coverage, and the tax subsidies that will help working families purchase coverage through health insurance exchanges.
- Their pledge to repeal health care reform includes no plans to improve primary care or increase the primary care workforce that exists in the current health care law.
- Their pledge to repeal health care reform will exacerbate the problems of lower health quality and health care disparities that African Americans experience. The existing law now requires that federally funded programs collect and report data on race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, health literacy, and primary language, using methodologies that will ensure health care disparities can be measured.
- Their pledge to repeal health care reform will undo the provisions that establish the Office of Minority Health at the Department of Health and Human Services and a network of minority health offices located within HHS that elevate the Office of Minority Health at the National Institutes of Health directly into the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
“This course of action would jeopardize the significant progress we’ve made to alleviate many of the disparities in health care that African Americans face. This is a slap in the face for the African American community who are most likely to be uninsured and a step back in the progress for the millions of people who fought to improve the quality and affordability of health care for all of us,” said Deepak Bhargava, executive director of the Campaign for Community Change.
