Bay Ridge

AARP says Donovan did right thing opposing AHCA

March 27, 2017 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle
U.S. Rep. Dan Donovan was prepared to vote against the AHCA before House Speaker Paul Ryan pulled the controversial legislation. Photo courtesy of Donovan’s office
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U.S. Rep. Dan Donovan has come under fire in recent weeks from Democratic constituents for his refusal to hold an in-person town hall in the Brooklyn end of his congressional district, but the Republican lawmaker is also winning praise for his stand against the American Health Care Act (AHCA).

The AHCA, the controversial, Republican-led repeal of the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare), was scheduled for a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives on Friday afternoon but was pulled at the last minute by Speaker of the House Paul Ryan when it became clear the legislation did not have enough votes to pass.

Donovan (R-C-Southwest Brooklyn-Staten Island) had stated his opposition to the AHCA a few days before the scheduled vote, in a move that saw him going against his party’s leadership.

His stand won him praise from the AARP, the nationwide organization representing Americans age 50 and above, who charged that the bill was bad for older Americans.

AARP New York state Director Beth Finkel said the AHCA would have hurt millions of older Americans and their families.

“Congressman Donovan’s opposition to this bill means insurance companies won’t be imposing an ‘age tax’ on older Americans, Medicare trust funds won’t be diminished to provide a tax cut for the wealthy and insurance and drug companies won’t be getting the giveaways and sweetheart deals the bill would have provided,” Finkel said in a statement.

Finkel added that AARP would like Donovan and his fellow members of Congress to turn their attention to focusing on “issues important to older Americans and their families, including protecting and improving Medicare’s benefits and financing, providing access to affordable quality coverage, preventing insurers from engaging in discriminatory practices, lowering prescription drug costs, providing new incentives to expand home and community based services and strengthening efforts to fight fraud, waste and abuse.”  

There are 92,000 AARP members living in Donovan’s district, according to the AARP.

Donovan said his decision to oppose the AHCA came down to his belief that the bill would hurt his constituents if it became law.

“Obamacare has burdened New York families with unaffordable premiums, rendered some insurance plans unusable because of high deductibles and caused people to lose their doctors. But recognizing that the status quo is failing isn’t, on its own, a compelling reason to vote ‘yes’ on the current replacement plan,” Donovan said in a statement.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that older Americans would see 25 percent increases in their insurance premiums as a result of the AHCA, Donovan said.

Donovan came under pressure from Democrats in his district who held protest demonstrations outside his Brooklyn and Staten Island offices to urge him to vote against the Obamacare repeal.

In several protest demonstrations, constituents expressed their anger at the fact that Donovan has thus far refused to hold an in-person town hall. He opted instead for a telephone town hall earlier this year in which he took questions from callers.

 

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