Rep. Aguilar Highlights Impact of the Republican Health Care and Affordability Crises Amid Trump’s Costly Iran War

Republican cuts to health care threaten access to affordable care for more than 24,000 people in California's 33rd Congressional District who are enrolled in Covered California, California's Affordable Care Act marketplace

SAN BERNARDINO, CA - Ahead of the 16-year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Rep. Pete Aguilar (CA-33) held a press conference at a mobile health clinic in San Bernardino to highlight how President Trump is spending billions of taxpayer dollars on his reckless war with Iran rather than bringing down health care costs for Americans here at home. You can watch the full video of the press conference here and find photos from the event above and here.

Sixteen years after the Affordable Care Act expanded health care to millions of Americans, Republican attacks on health care and their refusal to extend the ACA tax credits caused health care premiums to increase for 24,000 residents of California's 33rd Congressional District and more than 1.7 million Californians statewide. Instead of investing taxpayer money in bringing down the cost of health care, the Trump administration is spending it on this misguided war and is asking for even more taxpayer dollars to fund the war instead of bringing down costs here at home.

On top of the Republican health care crisis, Trump's war with Iran has made gas prices across the country skyrocket, with prices in San Bernardino County soaring to nearly $6.00 a gallon. The SAC Health Mobile Clinic travels hundreds of miles to serve thousands of patients in the Inland Empire, and higher fuel costs make it more expensive and difficult for mobile health clinics to operate and provide care to underserved communities.

"Sixteen years ago, the Affordable Care Act expanded access to quality, affordable health care for millions of Americans," said Rep. Pete Aguilar. "Today, Republicans are putting that progress at risk with health care cuts in their Big Ugly Law and by refusing to extend ACA tax credits that kept coverage affordable. Californians already struggle to afford doctors' visits and groceries because of these policies-and now, Trump's war with Iran is making gas prices skyrocket nationwide. Even worse, the Trump administration is asking for more of Americans' hard-earned taxpayer dollars to fund their reckless foreign war after already spending billions, all while refusing to spend a dime to bring down the cost of health care. From the gas pump to the doctor's office, working families are paying the price for Trump's disastrous policies and costly foreign war. I'll keep fighting to lower costs, protect health care and hold Trump accountable so Inland Empire families can thrive."

"The anniversary of the ACA is a reminder of how many of our community continue to need the compassionate care the SAC Health provides," said Dr. Michael Robinson, ACMO, SAC Health. "We are grateful for the ongoing support of the ACA as it is essential for the health of our community; it ensures that preventive care remains accessible and that chronic diseases are managed before they become emergencies. It allows us all to work together to care for our fellow human beings. This means that we can continue to focus on high-quality patient care every single day here at SAC Health."

"When I was unemployed, and my son was sick, we were without any health care coverage,"said Luis Hernandez, SAC Health Patient. "I cannot imagine what I would have done without a safety net that actually worked when we needed it most. Today, my son is healthy because we had resources that afforded us the ability to find a doctor and hospital that could help us."