Contact: Katie Glenn, kglenn@acc.org, 202-375-6472

WASHINGTON (Mar 08, 2017) -

As the U.S. House of Representatives Energy & Commerce and Ways & Means committees begin markup of legislation to repeal and/or replace the Affordable Care Act, American College of Cardiology President Richard A. Chazal, MD, FACC, made the following statement:

"With today's markups, further discussions about the future of our country's health care begin in earnest. The American College of Cardiology 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," said American College of Cardiology President Richard A. Chazal, MD, FACC.

"The ACC 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 and asks that all members of Congress fight for that essential protection. On behalf of the ACC's nearly 33,000 U.S. members, and our patients in every state and congressional district, I urge members of Congress to support efforts to expand access to, and prevent loss of, health care coverage through public and private programs.

"We stand ready to work with policymakers on both sides of the aisle to honor our shared responsibility to care for all Americans, especially for the most vulnerable among us."

The American College of Cardiology is a 52,000-member medical society that is the professional home for the entire cardiovascular care team. The mission of the College is to transform cardiovascular care and to improve heart health. The ACC leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines. The College operates national registries to measure and improve care, offers cardiovascular accreditation to hospitals and institutions, provides professional medical education, disseminates cardiovascular research and bestows credentials upon cardiovascular specialists who meet stringent qualifications. For more, visit acc.org.

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