WASHINGTON, D.C. – With the stories of rural, working Maine people in hand, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) took to the Senate floor today to criticize the misnamed American Health Care Act (AHCA) as a bill that “could not be more tailored to harm people in Maine.”

            “It’s a terrible blow to millions – literally millions – of people across this country, and thousands in my state of Maine,” Senator King said. “[…] We’re here to help our fellow citizens. I am here for Maine, and I can’t let my people suffer under a [bill] that would take something away that they have come to depend upon, that has saved lives, and means so much to them. We can do better.”

Senator King also criticized the bill for eliminating tax credits for middle income, working class Maine people while handing tax breaks to wealthy Americans. In fact, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, for a 60-year old in Hancock County with a $40,000 per year income, the AHCA would increase annual premiums from $4,080 to $17,090, thereby also sharply increasing the costs that person pays out of pocket for health insurance.

“What we’re really talking about is a massive tax increase on middle class and lower class people and a massive tax cut for the wealthiest Americans – it’s as simple as that. It’s a gigantic transfer of wealth – probably one of the greatest in a short time in recent American history – where you have millions of people across the country who have health insurance under the Affordable Care Act and are protected under Medicaid and Medicaid expansion, and you’re taking that away,” Senator King said. “And the Affordable Care Act exchange policies are a tax credit, so when you take that away, you’re increasing peoples’ taxes. […] That makes no sense. We are taking resources away from the people who need it – the middle class – and giving it to the people who don’t need it.”

Senator King shared the stories of Maine people who work in industries critical to the state economy: fishing and farming – both of which involve hard physical work and great risk. Senator King specifically spoke of David Osgood, a lobsterman from Vinalhaven; and Jonathan Ellsworth and his wife, Jennifer Schroth, who are organic farmers in Brooklin. He talked about how the Affordable Care Act has helped David and his wife, Elaine, afford health care, and provide them with a peace of mind. He also discussed how Jonathan and Jennifer had never been able to afford health insurance for their family before the Affordable Care Act, and are now concerned that the AHCA will once again put health care out of reach because it will allow insurance companies to charge them more – all while giving a tax break to the wealthiest Americans.

            “Running a small business is tough. It’s tough because you generally can’t get group policies. Sometimes you can join a small business association, but generally you can’t, and this is a way to have coverage that people can afford,” Senator King said. “Imagine if somebody came to this body and said, ‘I have a great idea for a bill. I’m going to raise taxes on the middle class and give a great big break to hedge fund managers. We wouldn’t even think about it. It wouldn’t even get out of Committee, and yet that’s essentially what this bill is all about.”

Senator King also shared his personal story of his battle with cancer as a young man and credited having health insurance with saving his life:

“It’s always haunted me to this day that the only reason I caught it and my life was saved was because I had health insurance, and that somewhere in this country there was a young man who also had a mole who didn’t have health insurance, didn’t have preventive care, didn’t go to the doctor, and he’s gone,” Senator King said.

Senator King also reaffirmed his commitment to working to improve the Affordable Care Act:

            “Don’t ever tell me that health insurance doesn’t save lives, and that’s why this is so important for us to get this right – and not just cavalierly and blithely rip health insurance away from people, many of whom have gotten it for the very first time, many of whom have small businesses, the very people we all talk about wanting to help,” Senator King said. “We can’t do it. It’s a dereliction of our duty to serve the American people. We need to figure out how to do it right. We need to figure out how to do it effectively and efficiently.”

Senator King has spoken out against the AHCA as “the most ill-conceived, damaging, and downright cruel piece of legislation” he has seen in his adult life. He has blasted the bill’s age tax, which makes insurance more expensive for older Americans, and denounced the bill’s impact on Maine’s fight against the opioid epidemic, its impact on people with disabilities, and how it will harm rural hospitals across the state. Senator King opposes the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and has repeatedly called on his colleagues to engage in bipartisan discussions to make meaningful improvements to the law before rushing to repeal of it.

Prior to his remarks, Senator King also took a moment to acknowledge the shooting incident that occurred this morning in Virgina where a gunman targeted Republican Members of Congress and their staff who were practicing for the upcoming Congressional baseball game. Senator King called “tragic, inexplicable, horrible” and said his heart went out to his colleagues, Capitol Police, and those hurt.

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