The House Budget Committee on Thursday narrowly approved the American Health Care Act (ACHA), with three Republicans joining Democrats in opposition to the legislation.

The committee voted 19-17 for the House Republican bill to repeal and replace parts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and the AHCA now heads to the Rules Committee before going up for debate on the House floor. The three Republicans to vote against the measure, Virginia Rep. Dave Brat, South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford and Alabama Rep. Gary Palmer, are all members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has said the AHCA would cause 24 million people to lose health insurance within a decade but reduce federal deficits by $337 billion. House Freedom Caucus members have opposed the bill on the grounds that it does not go far enough in rolling back tax subsidies within the ACA.

SDAHO is in step with our national partners at the American Hospital Association (AHA) and LeadingAge, who have stated they can not support the bill in its current form because of the significant negative impact the bill would have on the health of those individuals who find themselves uninsured.