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WHEREAS, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has provided coverage to nearly 96,000 residents of Allegheny County through Exchange-based private insurance and Medicaid Expansion, and traditional Medicaid covers 179,398 children, seniors, caregivers, and persons with disabilities throughout Allegheny County; and
WHEREAS, due to the increased coverage provided by the ACA, the uninsured rates in Allegheny County have dropped to record-low 6.9 percent for adults and 1.9 percent for children; and
WHEREAS, key consumer protections such as a ban on pre-existing conditions, the elimination of lifetime and annual limits, the provision allowing individuals to remain on a parent’s plan until age of 26, and the end of gender discrimination in rate setting have benefitted our community; and
WHEREAS, proposed cuts to Medicaid funding in the form of per capita caps and block grants would severely limit this safety net and affect the health and financial stability of approximately 275,398 low-income individuals, low-income seniors, children, pregnant women, persons with disabilities, and others in Allegheny County; and
WHEREAS, a repeal of the ACA without a replacement would negatively harm the economy in Pennsylvania by eliminating 137,000 jobs, reducing state business output by $128.9 billion, and decreasing the gross state product by $76.46 billion, while increasing the uninsured rate by 134 percent; and
WHEREAS, grant funding available through the ACA has aided efforts designed to improve health outcomes, build health infrastructure, spur innovation in healthcare, and enhance health care quality in Allegheny County, throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and nationwide; and
WHEREAS, a repeal of the ACA and the subsequent loss of adequate health coverage would place extreme challenges on our healthcare delivery system while severely decreasing revenue for our health centers, hospitals, and healthcare providers; and
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NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh condemns any action taken to repeal the Affordable Care Act without a simultaneous and comparable replacement that ensures no one currently covered loses coverage, benefits, financial assistance, or consumer protections currently available and also condemns efforts to impose block grants or per capita caps on Medicaid which would restrict vital funding and limit critical Medicaid benefits; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Council does hereby urge the United States Congress and President Donald Trump to refrain from repealing the Affordable Care Act without a replacement to ensure that no resident of City of Pittsburgh loses their health coverage.