Senate Dems Block Sen. Rick Scott Effort to Protect Americans with Pre-Existing Conditions

July 29, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Rick Scott proposed an amendment on the Senate floor to ensure that every American with a pre-existing condition would be protected, no matter how the Supreme Court rules on Obamacare, and allow young adults stay on their parents’ health insurance plans until they are 26. This proposed amendment would have built on his and Senator Thom Tillis’s Protect Act, which would make sure Americans with pre-existing conditions can get the health care coverage they need. Unfortunately, his efforts were blocked by Senate Democrats. See more in Senator Scott’s speech on the Senate floor HERE.

Senator Rick Scott said, “The rising cost of health care in our nation is a crisis affecting so many American families. Obamacare was sold on a lie and failed Americans. Under Obamacare, costs have skyrocketed and families lost the doctors they liked. We have to take action to lower costs and increase access. This is personal for me. My brother grew up with a pre-existing condition, and my mother had to drive 200 miles to a charity hospital just to get treatment for him. Today, I proposed a solution to ensure all Americans with pre-existing conditions are protected, regardless of what the Supreme Court rules on Obamacare. This is a common sense step to lower the cost of health care for Americans, but Senate Democrats blocked it. Like with everything in Washington, Democrats are all talk, no action. I’m disappointed my colleagues don’t want to fight to protect Americans with pre-existing conditions, but I won’t give up.”

Senator Rick Scott’s amendment worked to:

  • Guarantee coverage for pre-existing conditions and prohibit insurance companies from excluding coverage of treatments for a patient’s pre-existing condition;
  • Prohibit insurance companies from charging Americans higher premiums due to pre-existing conditions;
  • Guarantee the availability of health insurance coverage in the employer or individual markets, regardless of a pre-existing condition; and
  • Add protections to allow young adults to stay on their parents’ health insurance plans until they are 26.

 

###