On the Anniversary of the Passage of the Affordable Care Act, Senator Hassan Delivers Floor Speech Highlighting Importance of Bipartisan Support for ACA & Medicaid Expansion
WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan delivered a speech on the Senate Floor to commemorate the 13th anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Care Act — including Medicaid expansion — into law. During the speech, she discussed her leadership as Governor to expand Medicaid following the passage of the ACA, and how this has strengthened New Hampshire.
To watch Senator Hassan’s speech, click here.
See highlights from Senator Hassan’s speech below:
“The Affordable Care Act, and Medicaid expansion in particular, has done more to improve the health of the people of our country than any law passed in the last fifty years. This law was based on a simple proposition: that when everyone has access to quality, affordable care, our country is stronger and our people are more free.”
“For too long, many Americans had to pay painfully high premiums, or were even denied coverage altogether, just because they had a preexisting condition…No matter your political party, all of us should be united in celebrating that the days of denying someone coverage on account of a preexisting condition have ended.”
“Medicaid expansion has made our people heathier and our workforce stronger. Since 2014, the uninsured rate in New Hampshire fell by over forty percent. More than two hundred thousand Granite Staters have participated in expanded Medicaid.”
“The New Hampshire Republican-controlled State Senate voted unanimously to support reauthorizing the expanded Medicaid program. What was once a political lightening rod is now an essential part of our public health care system. It’s also strengthened both our economy and our workforce…in short, this law has become a fundamental part of our state’s promise to do right by Granite Staters.”
“New Hampshire’s bipartisan Medicaid expansion, as well as the bipartisan efforts in other states, are an important reminder of what we can accomplish when we work together. When we take the politics out of an issue; when we care more about whether an idea is good rather than whether it’s red or blue; we can accomplish tremendous things. We can make our country a better place. Because ultimately, the Affordable Care Act was nothing less than a step forward for the cause of human dignity and freedom.”
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