WASHINGTON – Kathy Ko Chin, president & CEO of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF), issued the following statement condemning the House’s planned vote on Friday to defund the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as part of a package to temporarily fund the federal government.
“It is unconscionable that as the country sits at the precipice of major fiscal deadlines, including both the expiration of current funding for the federal government and the approaching debt limit, House leadership will once again try to use politics to put the nation’s fiscal health at risk by attempting to defund the Affordable Care Act for the 42nd time.
Obamacare is the law of the land, and in 12 days, millions of Americans will begin to realize the promise of affordable health insurance, making their lives better and the country healthier. We urge the House to stop this display of politics and put the health, welfare and economic security of America first by passing a clean bill to fund the federal government now and over the coming months, working to address the harmful economic and human toll the sequester is taking.”
APIAHF is committed to working with Congress to find balanced measures to address the nation’s fiscal needs. APIAHF strongly opposes any efforts to defund or interfere with implementation of the ACA. The ACA offers an historic opportunity to substantially improve access to affordable health care and tackle racial and ethnic health and heath care disparities. As outlined by Kathy Ko Chin in a recent Huffington Post piece, attempting to defund the ACA comes at a time when implementation of the law is already underway and defunding it is opposed by most Americans.