Washington, DC-- Dr. L. Toni Lewis, Chair of SEIU Healthcare, issued this statement today in response to Senate hearings on the Affordable Care Act:

In neighborhoods all over this country, a change is underway that we are going to tell our grandchildren about someday. But you wouldn't know it as extremist Republicans have set their sights on another week of tearing down the Affordable Care Act and confusing their constituents.

For generations people have said "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." As a family physician, it is so clear to me that access to preventive care is key to ending the injustice that exists in healthcare today. Because of the Affordable Care Act, people are signing up every day for health coverage, and we are on a path to end the disparities that plague African-American and Latino families.

"A disproportionate number of African Americans and Latino Americans are uninsured, and as a result receive lower-quality care or emergency room care only, resulting in poor health outcomes. But thanks to "Obamacare," ordinary Americans in our communities are telling the doctors, nurses and healthcare workers of SEIU who are helping to spread the word, 'you made my day.'

"Extremist Republicans intent on repealing the new healthcare law would wipe out this critical foundation toward achieving healthcare equity. At best, Republicans would return all of us to a world where insurance companies could do whatever they want, whenever they wanted. At worst, we would see our communities continue to struggle for the kind of basic healthcare that should be a right in the richest nation on earth. Instead of tearing down the Affordable Care Act, let's build on success, and make healthier communities all over America a reality for generations to come.

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