WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) took to the Senate floor today to speak out against the recently released proposal to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which he said will hurt Maine seniors, give tax breaks to the wealthy at the expense of middle class Mainers, and end up costing people across the state more money while delivering less. In his remarks, Senator King also called on the U.S. House of Representatives to put a halt to the repeal effort and, instead, work to make meaningful improvements to the ACA so that Maine people don’t lose their health insurance.

“I don’t think there is much question that this proposal will hammer Maine and my people, and I can’t stand for that,” Senator King said. “I hope that the House will have a more vigorous process, that they’ll understand what the implications are, and take a more vigorous approach so that we’re not tearing insurance out from under people, we’re not going to make the costs be driven up, we’re not giving a tax break to people that make over $250,000 a year, and, at the same time, taking coverage away from people who make $30,000 a year. That’s wrong.”

Citing estimates provided through Kaiser Family Foundation, Senator King noted that, under this replacement proposal, a sixty year old in Aroostook County with an income of $30,000 a year would lose approximately 70 percent of the federal support for their health insurance plan provided by the Affordable Care Act, sharply increasing the costs that person pays out of their pocket for health insurance. Kaiser estimates that that support would fall by nearly 50 percent across the rest of the state.

            “The pattern is shift and shaft: shift the cost and shaft the people who need coverage,” Senator King said.

To emphasize the importance of the Affordable Care Act and how it has helped people in Maine, Senator King also read a letter from constituent Jim Tibbits of Old Town, a former employee in Maine’s pulp and paper industry, who wrote in to convey how the ACA allowed him to purchase health insurance for his family when he was laid off from his job:

“Hi Angus, I have worked in the pulp and paper industry for close to 30 years. It was a good industry up here and supported middle class families in northern Maine. […] Unfortunately they are all gone,” Jim wrote in his letter to Senator King. “After every closure, I had to obtain health insurance for my family on my own. Before Obama Care this was a disaster - I could only obtain catastrophic insurance from only one of two providers. There was no way I could pay $1500+++ for a decent plan while after Obama Care, I could obtain decent insurance at a decent price. While Obama Care may have been problematic for some, it was a God send for my family. Please help ensure we don't go back to the old days, We are self employed by our small business and would not be able to pay more for less!!!!”

“We should be repairing, not repealing – and I think this bill is not the right place to start,” Senator King continued. “I stand for the people of Maine. I stand for the people who are going to be harmed by this – whether they are seniors or working people or self-employed people who have been able to start businesses because they could get, for the first time, insurance under the Affordable Care Act. I believe that’s our obligation here.”

Senator King opposes the repeal of the ACA, which would strip health care away from tens of millions of Americans, including more than 75,000 in Maine. In January, Senator King offered five amendments to legislation that was under consideration by the Senate that would preserve critical facets of the ACA. He has also cosponsored an amendment that would stop efforts to dismantle the law, and he joined with several of his centrist colleagues in urging Senate leadership to discuss improvements to the law before rushing to fast-track a repeal of it.

Senator King has also expressed deep concern about the effects of repeal on hospitals in rural Maine. In January, he visited Penobscot Valley Hospital and Bridgton Hospital where he was told that a repeal of the landmark health care law would leave a substantial amount of their patients without health insurance, which would have serious, and in some cases, catastrophic, financial ramifications for hospitals. If the hospitals closed, then not only would countless people in Maine go without vital health care services, but hospital employees would also be laid off, which would detrimentally affect their livelihoods and hurt the local economy.

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