Statement from State Senator Gustavo Rivera on the Defeat of the Latest Republican Attempt to Repeal the Affordable Care Act

"This week the Senate Republicans introduced and voted for bills to forcefully repeal the Affordable Care Act three times. Three times they failed. Earlier today and in a dramatic vote, Senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and John McCain put the health of their constituencies and that of millions of Americans ahead of their party affiliation and sided with the 48 Senate Democrats in voting down the so-called "skinny" repeal, an indignant "effort" that would have pushed 16 millions of Americans into the ranks of the uninsured. The third and last Republican attempt on repealing the Affordable Care Act, whose text did not see the light until late last night and did not go through the appropriate legislative proceedings, was so fundamentally flawed that Republican Senators needed to be reassured that that bill in its original form, would never become law.  

While this vote represents a major relief for the millions of Americans whose lives depend on the continuity of the Affordable Care Act, as the Ranking Member of the New York State Health Committee, I remain committed in my efforts to ensure that every New Yorker regardless of their personal wealth, has access to affordable and quality healthcare.  That's why I became the sponsor of the New York Health Act and along with my colleague Dick Gottfried, who is the Assembly sponsor, we will continue engaging in conversation with our colleagues in both chambers and make New York a state where your wealth does not determine your access to health."