Seniors and Obamacare
I am proud of the improvements that the Affordable Care Act – Obamacare – makes for seniors. Under the law, seniors will get new benefits: free preventive services like cancer and diabetes screenings, a new annual wellness exam, and medical therapy to prevent dangerous drug interactions. Obamacare lowers drug costs and eliminates excess payments to private Medicare Advantage plans that drive up Part B costs to everyone. It improves quality and provides more access to doctors and other health care providers.
I am pleased that many of my proposals to protect seniors were included in Obamacare, including new Elder Justice grants to prevent elder abuse, criminal background checks for long-term care workers, and mandatory training to stop patient abuse and improve care of patients living with dementia.
More on Seniors and Obamacare
Today, the Supreme Court began hearing oral arguments in Texas v. California, a Republican-backed lawsuit to strike down the Affordable Care Act and its critical protections. For 10 years, the Republicans have tried, and failed, to take down this law and the lifesaving care it affords millions of Americans.
WASHINGTON - Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Senior Chief Deputy Whip, Chair of the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee, and Co-Chair of the House Democratic Caucus Task Force on Aging and Families, released this statement after President Trump said he would mail seniors a one-time $200 prescription drug discount card, raiding the Medicare Trust Fund after failing to take any action to actually lower prescription drug prices:
WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Congresswoman Schakowsky, a Senior Chief Deputy Whip and Chair of the Energy and Commerce Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee, took bold action to lower health costs, prescription drug prices, and the U.S. uninsured rate by voting to pass the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act.
WASHINGTON, DC - Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, a Senior Chief Deputy Whip and Chair of the Energy and Commerce Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee, slammed the Trump Administration’s decision yesterday to file a brief with the Supreme Court asking the justices to strike down the entirety of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).