FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

December 20, 2017

Contact: Allie Aguilera, allie.aguilera@younginvincibles.org, 202.734.6529

[WASHINGTON]–Today, the Republican tax bill will pass both houses of Congress. The bill eliminates the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, which will increase the number of uninsured by 13 million people, raise premiums by double digits, and undermine protections for people with pre-existing conditions by driving consumers into the short-term insurance market. This bill will also add $1.5 trillion to the national debt over the next ten years — and even more in the decades that follow, phase out tax cuts for working families, and provide a massive windfall for the wealthiest Americans and multinational corporations.

Rachel Fleischer, Executive Director of Young Invincibles, released the following statement on the tax law:

“Stealing funding that helps low-income people afford coverage to pay for tax cuts for the rich is simply unconscionable. This bill upends our health care system with no plan for keeping premiums from going up, preventing the number of uninsured from rising, and maintaining protections for all consumers.

Young people have made historic coverage gains under the Affordable Care Act, and we refuse to stand by and watch those gains be undermined.

As the largest advocacy organization focused on young people in the country, Young Invincibles is going to do everything we can in the states and in the halls of Congress to overcome the reckless instability members voted to inflict on our health care system.

This law cannot become an excuse to cut critical investments for young families. If Congress attempts to make Millennials and the generation behind them foot the bill to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy by eliminating student loan forgiveness, undermining Medicaid eligibility, or reducing funding for children’s health insurance, we will be there to hold them accountable.”

###