Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Reps. Terri Sewell (AL-07) and Kim Schrier (WA-08), Co-Chairs of the New Democrat Coalition’s (NDC) Health Care Task Force, led their NDC colleagues in a letter to congressional leadership calling for urgent action on a budget reconciliation bill that extends the enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies and closes the Medicaid coverage gap. Sewell and her New Dem colleagues pushed for and successfully secured the ACA subsidies in the American Rescue Plan (ARP). Protecting access to affordable, quality health care remains a top priority for Sewell and the Coalition.

“The refusal to expand Medicaid in states like Alabama is unconscionable and deprives millions of low-income Americans access to health care,” said Rep. Sewell, Co-Chair of the NDC Health Care Task Force. “With the American Rescue Plan’s enhanced ACA premium tax credits, we made critical progress in lowering costs and getting these Americans the coverage they deserve. Letting these tax credits expire would threaten to undo our progress, drive up health care costs, and strip Americans of their coverage. As co-chair of the Health Care Task Force, I was proud to lead my colleagues of the New Democrat Coalition in calling on leadership to prioritize extending these tax credits and closing the Medicaid coverage gap. We owe it to the American people to act now!”

“The enhanced ACA subsidies that New Dems secured in the American Rescue Plan have lowered health care costs and expanded access to coverage for millions of Americans,” said NDC Chair Suzan DelBene (WA-01). “Today, our members are leading the effort to extend the enhanced ACA subsidies and close the Medicaid coverage gap as soon as possible because we know how important it is to keep health care costs low especially during this time of global inflation.  We must act now to protect Americans' health care and keep costs low by enacting our Action Plan to Fight Inflation.”

“We need legislation to pass as soon as possible to lower health care costs. We took necessary steps to cap insurance premiums as part of the American Rescue Plan, and now we need a permanent solution,” said NDC Health Care Task Force Co-Chair Kim Schrier, M.D.. “I’m glad to join my New Dems colleagues in pressing for this important action. We should be doing everything we can right now to address costs, especially when many American families are struggling with rising prices.”

Sewell has fought tirelessly to close the Medicaid coverage gap in non-expansion states like Alabama. She will continue to work with President Biden and Congressional leadership to get this critical legislation over the finish line.

Read the full letter here.