President Obama formally vetoed, as expected, a budget reconciliation bill that would have effectively killed the Affordable Care Act.
The budget reconciliation bill, H.R. 3762 , passed in the Senate in December and cleared the House nearly along party lines on Jan. 6.
In announcing the veto, President Obama said in a statement that the bill would increase the number of uninsured by 22 million after 2017 and “would cost millions of hard-working middle-class families the security of affordable health coverage they deserve. Reliable health care coverage would no longer be a right for everyone: It would return to being a privilege for a few.”
He also noted that provisions that would defund Planned Parenthood would limit access to health care and disproportionately impact low-income individuals.
“Because of the harm this bill would cause to the health and financial security of millions of Americans, it has earned my veto,” he said.
