WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), a member of the Senate Finance Health Care Subcommittee, released the following statement after Republicans failed in their attempt to send a bad bill to the president on faith that it might be improved by the House of Representatives.
“Voting for a bill that you do not believe in and that you never want to become law defies logic. I’m glad my colleagues, Senator McCain, Senator Collins and Senator Murkowski, understood that it is our job as senators to fight on behalf of the health and wellbeing of our constituents and not just pass a bill for the sake of saying you passed a bill. It would have been disastrous for our country if this so-called ‘Skinny Repeal’ bill were ever to become law. CBO reports that 16 million Americans would have lost their coverage under this latest Republican version, and those who keep their coverage would have seen premiums increase by 20 percent a year.
“It’s time to move on. The American people want us to work together. We should move forward with tangible improvements to our current health system and work to stabilize insurance markets. I filed legislation recently, and so have many of my colleagues that builds on the current system, provides more stability in the individual insurance marketplace, lowers premiums and overall health care costs.