Medicaid Services Preserved; AHCA Vote Cancelled
March 24, 2017
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The vote in the House on the American Health Care Act (AHCA) was cancelled. This means the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and all of the provisions that protect all citizens' right to comprehensive, accessible, and affordable health care and community supports remain in effect. The withdrawal of the bill is a major victory for people with disabilities and their families, who would have been denied life-saving protections and supports granted to them by the Affordable Care Act. The AHCA would have fundamentally damaged the Medicaid program by cutting over $880 billion in funding and imposing restrictive caps that would have forced states to cut vital services, restrict eligibility and reduce benefits for people with disabilities.
AUCD thanks those Representatives that made a thoughtful, responsible, and principled decision to vote against the American Health Care Act. We also thank our network and allies for their commitment to preventing passage of the AHCA. The withdrawal of the AHCA shows clearly that advocacy and education work, and we urge our community to remain equally committed to protecting the rights of people with disabilities as we move forward.
