WAYNE GOODWIN: Health care will define the 116th Congress

Not even one month into the opening session of the 116th Congress, Republicans’ unwavering commitment to repealing the Affordable Care Act is on full view for all once again.

In January, House Democrats introduced a resolution authorizing the House Counsel to intervene in a Texas lawsuit filed by Republican state officials and backed by President Donald Trump's administration. The suit – which won in December and will likely face many more rounds of appeal – would completely dissolve the ACA, making it worse than any repeal bill that has come before Congress in the past two years.

We’ve seen the Republicans’ anti-health care agenda firsthand here in North Carolina, with Republicans in the General Assembly refusing to expand Medicaid, costing our state billions and hurting our rural hospitals and their patients. As state Insurance Commissioner, I was forced to return $74 million in federal aid that could have helped educate consumers on their options under the ACA due to a Republican-supported law.

In order to protect the provisions of the law that millions of North Carolinians rely on to access quality, affordable coverage, it’s time for those elected this past November to stand up and make the 116th Congress the “Health Care Congress.”

What might the "Health Care Congress" look like? First, the American people expect Congress to do everything possible to overturn last year’s federal court decision that struck down the ACA, which President Trump has repeatedly celebrated and which has faced virtually no opposition from Republican members of Congress. A first step would include passing a Senate Resolution to similar to the House measure that authorizes the House legal counsel to intervene in the lawsuit, as well as oppose GOP attempts to continue the war on health care through the courts.

Similarly, Congress needs to step in to end the war on people with pre-existing conditions, which nearly 4 million North Carolinians live with.  Almost all Americans agree on this provision of the ACA, yet the Trump Administration has created rules that allow states and insurance companies to skirt it.  Congress must stop insurance companies from selling long-term junk health insurance that allows them to deny quality, affordable coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.

Hardworking families in North Carolina have overwhelmingly spoken out about how unsustainable health care costs are. Congress must focus on legislation lowering the costs of prescription drugs, ending surprise medical bills, expanding financial assistance by expanding eligibility for premium tax credits, and expanding services before deductibles.

Later in the year as open enrollment for health plans on the individual market rolls around, Americans will need Congress to restore full outreach funding to the pre-Trump levels and make all information about ways to sign up for coverage easily accessible for everyone.

Finally, Congress can strengthen Medicaid and Medicare. Aside from extending and increasing federal funding for Medicaid expansion, they can improve Medicare’s affordability by adding an out-of-pocket maximum for older Americans.

The 116th Congress must be “The Health Care Congress.” And the House of Representatives, under Speaker Nncy Pelosi’s leadership, is poised to deliver for the people and protect North Carolinians’ health care. Republicans need to read the writing on the wall from November, end their war on health care once and for all, and come to the table to find common sense solutions that improve the health care system for everyone.