Pelosi Remarks at House Democrats' Press Event Commemorating Fifth Anniversary of Affordable Care Act

"Good morning, everyone. Good morning. I'm very proud to stand on the steps of the Capitol to observe the fifth anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Care Act.

[Applause]

"This morning, we'll be hearing from our distinguished Whip, Mr. Hoyer, our Assistant Leader, Mr. Clyburn, our Chair of our Caucus Xavier Becerra, our special, very special guests – all of our House Members welcome Jamal Lee, Dr. Renee Fox, and her daughter, Catherine Florea, and Amanda Jean Beaulieu. They will explain why the Affordable Care Act is important to them. Five years ago – yesterday marks the fifth anniversary. The day after the passage of the bill, President Obama called and said, ‘thank you,' he congratulated the Congress for passing the bill – but he said, ‘I was happier last night with the passage of the health care bill than I was on the night I was elected President of the United States.'

[Applause]

"Of course, I said, ‘Mr. President, if you had not been elected President of the United States, we would not have an Affordable Care Act. Thank you, President Obama.

[Applause]

"Today, we are gathered in the celebration of this anniversary and to highlight our historic progress towards making health care a right for every American – not a privilege for the few. We'll be brief, for the facts speak for themselves, and we have powerful stories from our guests. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, it's important to note – it's Women's History Month, so I'm going to speak to you from the perspective of a woman – as many as 65 million women with pre-existing conditions are no longer at risk for being denied coverage. No longer will being a woman be considered a pre-existing medical condition.

[Applause]

"Nearly 30 million American women with private health insurance are benefiting from newly-free preventive care, including wellness visits, mammograms, cervical cancer screenings, prenatal care and immunizations. In fact, overall, 76 million Americans in private plans – including 18 million children – are now benefiting from expanded access to free preventive services with no co-pay under the Affordable Care Act. An additional 39 million seniors in Medicare also receiv[ed] one or more free preventive services with no co-pay in 2014. We're very, very happy about the policy, but more importantly what it means to the people, to individuals. And we're very, very, very pleased at what it means to reducing the cost of health care to our budget. And on that score, I'm delighted to yield to our distinguished Whip of the House, the Democratic Whip of the House, Steny Hoyer."

Leader Pelosi's Closing Remarks

"Thank you, Amanda Jean. In closing, I want to, I know on behalf of all my colleagues, thank Amanda Jean, Catherine, Dr. Fox, and Jamal Lee for their testimony here today. They're the stories of the American people across the country. We hear this over and over again. I also, in closing, want to thank our colleagues – the House Democratic Caucus – for their support of the Affordable Care Act and their defense of it over the past five years.

"We want to join with the Republicans in strengthening health security in our country and the economic freedom this landmark law has provided. In closing, also, I want to thank the American Heart Association, the Small Business Majority, the American Academy of Pediatrics, Families USA, MomsRising, the Young Invincibles, and the National Women's Law Center for gathering with us today. To them and so many more organizations: thank you for making this law possible. Thank you for giving us a healthier America. Thank you, my colleagues."

[Applause]