Washington, DC – Yesterday, Donald Trump announced Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) as his pick for Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
“Rep. Tom Price repeatedly voted to gut the Affordable Care Act (ACA), to take away access to birth control from women in need, and to defund Planned Parenthood – which provides preventative and primary care services for over 600,000 Latinos. Having Rep. Price as the Secretary of Health and Human Services would pose a severe risk to Latinos across the country who face greater obstacles to access quality affordable health care, preventive care like cancer screenings, and sexual and reproductive health services,” said Cristóbal J. Alex President of Latino Victory Project. “If the Trump administration thinks we’re going to sit back while they endanger our community’s access to healthcare, they’re wrong. Latinos will fight to protect Planned Parenthood and to ensure that the Affordable Care Act continues to provide affordable, quality healthcare for our community and for Americans in need across the country.”
THE FACTS:
Rep. Tom Price (R-GA):
- Price tried to end the birth control benefit in the ACA. When asked during a 2012 interview with ThinkProgress, what women who can’t afford birth control should do, Rep. Price said he doesn’t believe there is one woman who can’t afford contraception:
- “Bring me one woman who has been left behind. Bring me one. There’s not one. The fact of the matter is, this is a trampling of religious freedom and religious liberty in this country.”
- Price has repeatedly voted to defund Planned Parenthood
- Price voted to strip away federal funding for health coverage that includes abortion services
- Repeatedly votes to restrict abortion access to women and to submit them to required but unnecessary guilt-tripping literature
- Voted against funding to combat AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis (2008)
- Voted against the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 (CHIP), which as of 2009 benefitted over 5 million low-income children
- Voted against a bi-partisan bill to fund infant mortality pilot programs to avoid preventable infant death
- Price co-sponsored the Right to Life Act, which “Declares that the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human being. Defines “human being” to encompass all stages of life, including but not limited to the moment of fertilization or cloning”
The Affordable Care Act and Latinos:
- Thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the uninsured rate among Latinos has dropped 27%, providing health insurance for over 4 million Latinos (18-64 years of age) – including over 900,000 Latinos between 19-26 years of age who have coverage under their parents’ health insurance plan thanks to the ACA.
- The Affordable Care Act has provided access to preventive services for over 8.8 million Latinos with private health insurance with no out of pocket expense, and invested $11 billion in Community Health Centers that provide primary care services for large communities of color.
Planned Parenthood and Latinos:
- Approximately a quarter of Planned Parenthood’s patients are Latino. Planned Parenthood provides care for over 600,000 Latinos in clinics across the country.
- Through their program Raíz, Planned Parenthood is building long-term relationships with the Latino community across the country and fighting for access to quality affordable healthcare, reproductive rights, and sex education.
