March 9 Update: The House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees have completed their markups. The legislation now moves to the House Budget Committee. ACC’s health policy leaders and advocacy staff continue to monitor this legislation. Updates will be posted to ACC.org and included in the Advocate newsletter as they become available.

The House Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means committees will markup separate health-care-related bills today that would repeal and/or replace provisions in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Following completion of these markups, the House Budget Committee must combine the two bills before consideration by the broader House of Representatives.

“With today’s markups, further discussions about the future of our country’s health care begin in earnest,” says ACC President Richard A. Chazal, MD, FACC.

According to Chazal, the College is encouraged by the widely-expressed commitment to guarantee access to affordable coverage options for patients with heart disease or other pre-existing medical conditions. He also notes that the College will be urging members of Congress to support efforts to expand access to and prevent loss of health care coverage through public and private programs. Additionally, the College’s Health Policy leaders and staff will be analyzing the legislation and evaluating the process through the lens of the recently released health policy principles.

“The ACC has been a long-time advocate for health care reform policies that protect patient access to quality, cost-effective care and ensure continued investment in cardiovascular research, prevention, and health care workforce development,” says Chazal. “We stand ready to work with policymakers on both sides of the aisle to honor our shared responsibility to care for all Americans, especially the most vulnerable among us.”

Keywords: Health Care Reform, Health Policy, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

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