PRESS RELEASE
AAPCHO Statement on Trump Administration’s Latest Actions Undermining Access to Affordable Health Care
October 13, 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Beverly Quintana
Director of Development and Public Affairs
(510) 272-9536
bquintana[at]aapcho[dot]org
WASHINGTON – The Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO) issued the following statement against President Trump’s executive order to allow health plans with fewer benefits and weaker consumer protections to be exempt from Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements, and decision to end critical cost-sharing reduction payments to health insurers that help low-income Americans afford care.
“These latest actions by the administration are harmful to the stability of the health care system overall and will result in millions of Americans losing access to the health care they need,” said Jeffrey Caballero, executive director of AAPCHO. “In undermining key protections provided by the Affordable Care Act and refusing to continue required payments, the administration is making health care out of reach for many who need it most, including low-income children and families served by community health centers. We urge the administration and Congress to stop these attempts to sabotage the health care law and to work towards bipartisan solutions to improve access to care for all.”
The president’s decision to end the ACA’s cost-sharing reductions that help low-income Americans get coverage came just hours after he signed the executive order to allow alternative health care plans to avoid many ACA rules. These rules include consumer protections for the most vulnerable populations, including people with pre-existing conditions and older adults. These actions come three weeks before the Nov. 1 start of the Open Enrollment period for people to apply for coverage under the ACA and are the latest steps by the administration to weaken the health care law. Other actions by the administration to undercut the law include shortening the Open Enrollment period from three months to just 45 days, decreasing funding for navigators to help people shop for plans, cutting advertising by 90 percent, and pulling Department of Health and Human Services Regional Advisors from working on Open Enrollment.
The ACA has increased and improved access to health care for 20 million Americans, including millions of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (AA&NHPIs) and other underserved populations served at health centers. These communities heavily rely on benefits and protections under the ACA and are greatly impacted by the Trump administration’s latest actions to undermine the law.
AAPCHO and partners will host a webinar on Oct. 17 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. EDT on AA&NHPI Communities and Open Enrollment. To register for this webinar, go to: http://bit.ly/2g1Lkif.
About AAPCHO
AAPCHO is a national association of community health organizations dedicated to promoting advocacy, collaboration and leadership that improves the health status and access of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. For more information on AAPCHO, please visit www.aapcho.org.