Health Care
Affordable Care Act
On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as Obamacare. While a strong supporter of a single-payer health care system, Congressman Scott tirelessly worked with his colleagues in Congress to pass the Affordable Care Act. Four years later, the law's provisions are improving the lives of millions of people in the Commonwealth of Virginia and across the United States. No one can ever again be denied coverage for a pre-existing condition. No one ever again has to worry that one major illness will mean bankruptcy for his or her family. No senior citizen will ever again have to pay a co-pay for key preventive services, such as cancer screenings. While he is not opposed to improving the law as implementation continues, Congressman Scott is opposed to attempts to weaken or repeal Obamacare.
Medicare and Medicaid
Congressman Scott is also a strong supporter of Medicare and Medicaid and has strongly opposed repeated attempts to weaken or dismantle these critical health care programs. Together, these programs insure almost 40% of Americans providing a critical safety net for those who are elderly, low-income, or disabled. Congressman Scott does not support taking away these key health benefits for American families. He has consistently opposed the Republican Budget, which has proposed to block grant Medicaid and end the Medicare guarantee by converting it into a voucher program. Congressman Scott strongly supports maintaining and strengthening these programs to make sure that those who need them most can continue to rely on them.
Learn More About Your Health Care Options
- Healthcare.gov - information on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and how to access coverage in the Health Insurance Marketplace
- Kaiser Family Foundation Affordable Care Act Subsidy Calculator - find out the amount of subsidy that you or your family is eligible for to defray the cost of private insurance
- Medicare - information for seniors and those with Medicare
- Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (for Medicaid and SCHIP) - information on Virginia's Medicaid program and the FAMIS program
- TRICARE - information for military personell, military retirees, and their dependents who have TRICARE health coverage.
Briefing Materials
More on Health Care
January 7, 2017
In The News
FOR DECADES, the nation’s leaders were at a stalemate, unable to enact real reform, even though we knew that our health care system was not working for too many Americans.
Before reform, millions lost their health insurance every year. Often, individuals with pre-existing conditions, such as cancer or diabetes, were unable to afford insurance, if they could obtain it at all.
The critically ill hit the lifetime limit of what their insurance policy would cover, forcing them to pay out of pocket for the rest of their care. Families were declaring bankruptcy because of unpaid medical bills. Young adults were getting kicked off their parents’ insurance when they graduated college.
January 6, 2017
Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued the final rule updating the levels of permissible beryllium exposure to workers. The nearly 70-year-old old standard for workers exposed to beryllium has failed to protect workers from contracting chronic beryllium disease and cancer.
“OSHA’s beryllium rule, which took 18 years to develop, reduces permissible exposure levels by 90 percent, and is estimated to prevent 900 premature deaths due to the ravages of chronic beryllium disease and cancer over the next 10 years,” said Ranking Member Scott. "I also applaud OSHA for listening to the pleas of shipyard workers and the Steelworkers Union at the Newport News Shipyard by expanding the rule to cover shipyards. The protective health standard was also supported by the Newport News Shipyard and Shipbuilders Council of America, demonstrating their concern for improved workplace safety."
December 7, 2016
Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ranking Members Bobby Scott (D-VA), Sandy Levin (D-MI), and Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) of the House Committees on Education and the Workforce, Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce respectively, made the following joint statement after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued an order to delay the consideration of House v. Burwell:
“This decision to delay the consideration of House v. Burwell until after Inauguration Day puts millions of Americans at risk of losing their health insurance coverage next year. Republicans have relentlessly attempted to repeal and undermine the Affordable Care Act since the law was enacted. If the incoming Trump Administration decides not to defend the legality of the ACA’s cost-sharing subsidies in court, the lower court ruling stands; and we would see the undermining of the insurance market as a whole – both the coverage of those American families who rely on the financial assistance, as well as those who purchase coverage on their own.
December 2, 2016
Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bobby Scott will hold a health care town hall in Newport News on Monday, December 12, 2016 at 6:30 p.m.
Congressman Scott will be joined by a representative from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Ashley Richard and Jamila Allen, both Navigators at ENROLL Virginia!, a nonpartisan, community-based organization dedicated to assisting Virginians with enrolling in health insurance offered by the Affordable Care Act Marketplace.
November 15, 2016
In The News
U.S. Rep. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott, D-Newport News, has championed the ACA. In a statement, Scott said when Republicans talk about repealing the law, people have to remember how broken the American health care system was before the ACA, with millions of people losing health care coverage, those with pre-existing conditions unable to get coverage, and people going bankrupt trying to pay high medical bills.
"The Affordable Care Act solved many of these issues. Americans can no longer be denied access to health insurance because of a pre-existing condition. Young adults can now stay on their parents' health insurance until their 26th birthday. The Medicare trust fund is solvent well into the next decade," Scott said.
Scott acknowledged that the ACA hasn't fixed all problems with the health care system, but urges Republicans to build on what's in place, not tear it down.
September 9, 2016
Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), the Ranking Member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, joined United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) President Cecil Roberts, and thousands of retired coal miners and their families, including hundreds from Southwest Virginia, for a rally to push Congress to pass the Coal Healthcare and Pensions Protection Act (H.R. 2403/S. 1714).
“Congress cannot delay action on the Coal Healthcare and Pensions Protection Act any further,” stated Congressman Scott. “These men and women have earned these benefits and we cannot hang them out to dry by our inaction. My colleagues who call themselves ‘friends of coal’ also need to be ‘friends of coal miners’ and join this bipartisan coalition of members of Congress and bring this bill up for a vote immediately.”
May 13, 2016
Floor Statements
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I inadvertently voted NAY on passage of S. 524, as amended by the House. I strongly support S. 524, as amended by the House.
April 27, 2016
Floor Statements
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, more than 60 years ago, Congress responded to the Defense Department's concern that so many children were malnourished, they would be unfit for military service, that they passed the National School Lunch Act as a measure of national security to safeguard the health and well-being of our Nation's children.
Through the enactment of the first Federal child nutrition program, Congress recognized that feeding hungry children is not just a moral imperative, it is vital to the health and security of our Nation.
Mr. Speaker, I serve as the ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. Our committee is tasked with making sure that all children have an equal shot at success, so it is only fitting that child nutrition programs fall within our committee's jurisdiction.
February 3, 2016
Floor Statements
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I thank Congresswoman Watson Coleman for her leadership in coordinating this Special Order, and thank you to the Michigan Representatives who have been working so hard to try to respond to this tragedy.
Madam Speaker, there will be a lot of investigations designed to find out what happened, whose fault it was, whether or not any crimes were committed, and how to prevent this from happening in the future, but there is one thing we know, and that is that children have been poisoned by lead exposure.
February 2, 2016
Floor Statements
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, since the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, the House of Representatives has attempted to dismantle the law 62 times. Today is number 63, to repeal a major portion of the Affordable Care Act.
Mr. Speaker, since the Affordable Care Act passed, people with preexisting conditions can now get health insurance. The cost of health insurance has been increasing at the lowest rate since they started keeping records about a half a century ago. Those young people under 26 can stay on their parents' policies. Women are no longer paying more for insurance than men. We are closing the prescription drug doughnut hole. While thousands of people were losing their insurance every day when we passed the bill, more than 17 million people have insurance today.