Pennsylvania’s Elected Officials React to the GOP’s Healthcare Bill

Smucker and doyleHouse Republicans released their plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and almost immediately Pennsylvania’s elected officials put their spin on it.  

Republicans have mainly been touting the plan as a way to lower healthcare costs.  Democrats have been calling the plan failed and that it will hurt people’s access to healthcare.  

PoliticsPA is the awarding the ‘party warrior award’ to Democratic Rep. Mike Doyle for having one of the strongest statements against the American Health Care Act, and Republican Rep. Lloyd Smucker for his praise of the AHCA.  

Below are the highlights from each statement that was released. PoliticsPA will update with additional statements as we receive them.

Governor Tom Wolf

“For seven years, Republicans in Washington criticized the Obama Administration for rushing Obamacare through without the appropriate public vetting and yet Americans are being given less than seven days to fully understand the implications of this legislation on their health and households.”

Senator Bob Casey

“GOP health plan’s proposal on Medicaid is a disgrace to our nation and I will fight it with everything I have.  This would mean cuts for seniors, those with disabilities and those with low incomes. Hell no, I won’t go along with it.”

PA-2: Rep. Dwight Evans (D-Philadelphia)

“We have seen real numbers, heard countless success stories and have hard facts to prove the ACA provides quality, affordable health insurance to millions of Americans. In the African American community we have seen the uninsured rate decrease dramatically as a result of the ACA. Now, is not the time to repeal and replace a law that is working with a plan that will cost Americans more money for less coverage.”

PA-3: Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Butler)

“The end of Obamacare and the start of a better health care system began this morning and will continue until cost-lowering, patient-centered health care for every American is fully achieved. This is news of enormous relief for American workers, families, seniors, those who are sick and vulnerable, and those who give them medical care.”

Update: PA-11: Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Luzerne)

“I was encouraged to see that the bill maintains that people with pre-existing conditions cannot be denied coverage, and that adult children can stay on their parent’s health insurance until the age of 26. The bill also fully repeals the job-killing medical device tax and makes significant strides in rolling back harmful government mandates. I am continuing to review the bill, keeping in mind the impact it will have on people of Pennsylvania’s 11th District.”

PA-13: Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Philadelphia)

“As a co-chair of the Blue Collar Caucus, I am particularly incensed that Republicans used this bill as a means to dump huge health costs on working families while at the same time handing the 400 wealthiest families in America a tax break worth $7 million a year.”

PA-14: Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Allegheny)

“For seven years you have promised the american people you are going to repeal and replace Obamacare.  And this is what you come up with.  This is a bad joke.  No wonder you have been hiding dog in a cave with an armed guard until Monday night.”

PA-16: Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-Lancaster)

“While more work needs to be done, the American Health Care Act is a good start to ensuring Pennsylvanians will have access to the care they need at a price they can afford. I will work with my colleagues in the House to advance this critical legislation, and will fight for a stable transition to a better system for everyone.”

PA-18: Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Allegheny)

“The American Health Care Act reflects our commitment to deliver treatment before tragedy.”

8 Responses

  1. I no longer wonder at the mixed responses to what the new administration is doing. For years Republican politicians had obscured, twisted and out right lied to the point that their followers no long know what TRUTH is. The new health bill will hurt them, their families, especially their children. Perhaps they will finally open their eyes to see that the emperor in fact has no clothes. Though I’m not holding my breath!

  2. HH: That sounds like a dick BUSH move. But it would be better for the country if we just banned all GOP from any involvement in governmental affairs permanently.

  3. Recently heard that the outgoing Pa. republican party
    administration deleted all the files and records including fund raising lists etc. to make it more difficult for the new administration. IF this is true they should be banned from any future roles in the republican party.

  4. The real story is that so many of our Commonwealth’s Representatives have had nothing to say.

    Perhaps they feel safe in their gerrymandered fortresses and are lazily leaving the hard work of saving our nation’s broken healthcare system to others.

  5. The theory of repeal & replace is a figment of the mind of Trump & the GOP – The Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act is AMENDED starting with Section 4002 (b) as amended by Section 5009 of the 21st Century Cures Act – another Trump lie!!

  6. Predictable reactions. Nothing too enthusiastic from Republicans, and the usual hype and snipe from Democrats.

    ACA repeal/reform/whatever will take longer and be much more complicated than its most ardent partisans are willing to admit. Perhaps this is why a lot Republicans in PA and elsewhere sound a bit lukewarm on it. But most will hold their noses and support it, the sooner the better for their political careers.

    Democrats will predictably say and do anything to torpedo Republican efforts against Obamacare. Perhaps some of their criticism is justified. However, they all too quickly forget the crass and slapdash way the ACA was promulgated. The Republicans remember it. And it’s their turn now.

  7. I love how they complained up and down that the Democrats rushed the ACA through without public comment, despite holding hearing after hearing featuring hundreds of people over months. Now the Republicans were literally drafting this in a basement room and are rushing this through without even a CBO number saying how much it will cost. These Republicans in Congress and the Republican administration are intellectually and morally bankrupt hypocrites.

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