Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., cosponsored legislation Thursday aimed at reversing Republican health care cuts and permanently extending Affordable Care Act tax credits.
The Protecting Healthcare and Lowering Costs Act, H.R. 4849, would repeal provisions in a Republican tax bill that Vasquez said would eliminate Medicaid coverage for 110,000 New Mexicans and reduce health care eligibility for working families.
“For many folks in New Mexico, reversing these Republican cuts to health care coverage is literally a matter of life or death,” Vasquez said in a statement. “For seniors in Socorro, farmworkers in Deming, and families in Hobbs, losing access to health care coverage means going without life-saving medicine, critical checkups or treatment when it matters most.”
According to Vasquez’s office, an estimated 38,000 people in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District would lose Medicaid coverage under the Republican tax bill passed this summer. The expiration of enhanced premium tax credits would more than double premiums for over 18,000 district residents who purchase insurance through ACA marketplaces, his office said.
About 17,000 people in the district rely on the credits to afford coverage, but the Republican tax law made them set to expire at the end of this year, according to Vasquez’s office. This would drive up out-of-pocket premium costs by more than 200%, or about $700 annually.
Vasquez said he introduced the bill after hearing concerns from constituents, doctors and providers across southern New Mexico. In June, he visited Socorro General Hospital, where staff warned that the Republican tax law threatens access to care for expectant mothers, according to his office. In August, he visited Carlsbad Medical Center and heard from hospital leadership about how the tax law will limit access to care and raise insurance premiums.
Both hospitals are at risk of closing because of the health care provisions in the Republican tax law, according to Vasquez’s office.
“These subsidies are critical to keeping New Mexicans insured,” said Bruce Gilbert, chief executive officer of BeWell, New Mexico’s Health Insurance Marketplace. “Health care coverage is an essential part of a vibrant, active and healthy community.”
During debate on the tax bill, Vasquez introduced an amendment to cap insulin at $35 for individuals with private insurance, but it was rejected by Republicans, according to his office. He also cosponsored the Rural Physician Workforce Production Act to incentivize medical residents to train and practice in rural areas, and the CHIPP Act to permanently fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program and expand coverage for children.