NEWS FROM CONGRESSMAN ELIOT ENGEL

Engel Marks 8^th Anniversary of the Affordable Care Act

  Congressman Eliot L. Engel, a top member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following statement:

“It was my privilege to help craft the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and vote for its passage. In the eight years since it was signed into law, we’ve seen millions gain insurance coverage, new consumer protections codified, and essential services guaranteed for the first time, ensuring Americans get premium value for their dollars.

“But on top of that, we’ve seen the idea that health care is a right, not a privilege, face test after test and prevail every time. We have defeated Republicans’ incessant attempts to repeal the ACA, and have met head on the challenges posed by the Trump Administration. More than 4.3 million New Yorkers signed up for health care coverage during the most recent enrollment period – 700,000 more than in 2017, despite the Administration’s repeated attempts to sabotage the process.

“Now, it’s time to finish the work we started with the ACA. We must fight the Trump Administration’s insidious ploy to take away quality coverage by letting junk plans proliferate. We must reject policies like Medicaid work requirements that do nothing to bring care to those who need it. And we must once and for all commit ourselves fully to truly universal health care by passing H.R. 676, the Expanded & Improved Medicare For All Act.”

Engel Fights Opioid Crisis With New Legislation

  Congressman Eliot L. Engel, a top member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee, participated in a two-day subcommittee hearing this week examining solutions to the opioid crisis. The subcommittee considered more than two dozen bills, including two co-authored by Congressman Engel: H.R. 5272, the Reinforcing Evidence-Based Standards Under Law in Treating Substance Abuse (RESULTS) Act, and H.R. 5329, the Poison Center Network Enhancement Act.

The RESULTS Act, co-led by Congressman Engel and Congressman Steve Stivers (R-OH), would ensure that federal grants intended to treat mental health and substance use disorders fund activities that are backed by sound evidence. The legislation also ensures stakeholders have the necessary tools to emulate successful programs in their communities.

The committee also considered the Poison Center Network Enhancement Act, legislation co-led by Congressman Engel and Congresswoman Susan Brooks (R-IN). This bill will reauthorize the nation’s poison center program for an additional five years. Since 2011, U.S. poison centers have handled nearly 200 cases per day involving opioid misuse. Poison center experts have also helped detect trends in the epidemic and educated Americans about the crisis. This bill would ensure these activities continue. Congressman Engel co-authored the last poison center reauthorization, the Poison Center Network Act (P.L. 113-77), which was signed into law in 2014.

“More action is needed to turn the tide on the opioid crisis, which is why I have co-authored these two bipartisan bills,” Engel said. “Too many of our friends and neighbors have been touched by this heartbreaking crisis. In Westchester County, 124 people died due to opioids in 2016. In the Bronx, more New Yorkers died of overdoses than in any other borough. This has to stop.

“I hope that the solutions I’ve sponsored can help bring this public health emergency to an end – but the Trump Administration must act, too. Medicaid and the protections guaranteed by the Affordable Care Act have helped Americans grappling with substance use disorders get the treatment they need. If the Trump Administration is serious about ending the opioid epidemic, the attacks on these lifelines must end.”