Health Care

What Hank has done:

• Voted on January 10, 2020, to pass H.R. 535, the PFAS Action Act, to protect families from PFAS “forever chemicals” and designate them as hazardous substances, clean up existing contamination and protect public health by providing critical resources for communities.

  • Responded to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling against the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate and asking of the district court, which had previously struck down the entirety of the ACA, to determine next steps.
  • Since the Affordable Care Act was established in 2010, Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04) says, “Residents of my state – ranging from young adults to seniors to children – are receiving critical benefits from this health care law.” Some of these benefits include: increasing access to Medicaid, providing new coverage options for young adults, creating affordable prescription drugs for seniors, and removing lifetime limits on health benefits. 
• The Affordable Care Act aided in expanding health insurance coverage by establishing a Health Insurance Marketplace in every state and increasing access to the Medicaid program. From 2013 to 2016, there was an evident decrease of those uninsured by 29% in the State of Georgia. 
• The Affordable Care Act provided Georgia with millions of dollars’ worth of grants that met the constituent’s healthcare needs. Georgia received $14,389,032 for Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Programs. In addition, Georgia received $287,100 for Family-to-Family Health Information Centers and $4,953,436 for school-based health centers to help clinics to amplify health care services.
• Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04) announced that a new report shows that hundreds of thousands of people in Georgia are already benefiting from the Affordable Care Act and that will continue to grow over the years, especially in the State of Georgia. 

What Hank will do:

• Ensure that the health care reform legislation is implemented such that it protects consumers and empowers ordinary Americans seeking affordable health insurance.
• Continue to pursue additional funds for Georgia’s critical PeachCare program.
• Continue to support a public option to counter insurance industry price gouging.
• Introduced and passed the “Neglected Infections of Impoverished Americans Act, which would require Health and Human Services to report to Congress annually on the impact of parasitic diseases – mostly in poor, minority populations along the U.S.-Mexico border, the rural South, Appalachia and distressed urban areas – to address their threat and make funding recommendations on how to eradicate them.
• Continue to support investment in health care research.