Today the House of Representatives passed legislation that would undo major provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In response, Sandra R. Hernández, MD, president and chief executive officer of the California Health Care Foundation issued the following statement:

“The guiding principle for health care is, ‘First do no harm.’ If it becomes law, this bill would do serious harm to tens of millions of Americans struggling to get by — the very people who need affordable health care to reach their full potential. It is a penny-wise, pound-foolish policy that will force patients to forgo necessary care, leaving more Americans sicker and dying younger. It is particularly shocking that this momentous decision comes without the Congressional Budget Office estimate of the human and financial costs, even though that information is expected in a matter of days. America is better than this.”

In the weeks to come, CHCF will share additional analysis of the latest legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act. In the meantime, see CHCF’s existing list of data resources and analyses of the potential impact of ACA repeal on California.

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