At the foundation of improving care is a commitment to protect those with pre-existing conditions and ensure access to your trusted doctors. I support these protections, my Republican colleagues support these protections, and President Trump supports these protections. I have voted for legislation that ensures coverage for individuals with pre-existing conditions, and I’ll continue to do so.
I will continue voting for legislation that protects people with pre-existing conditions and ensures access to trusted doctors.
Occurrences
Evidence
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HealthCare.gov states that all Marketplace plans must cover treatment for pre-existing medical conditions and that plans cannot reject applicants, charge more, or refuse to pay essential health benefits because of a prior condition.
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The House Clerk records Roll Call 256 on H.R. 1628, the American Health Care Act, as passed 217-213; Rep. Higgins (LA), Republican, Louisiana, voted Aye.
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CBO estimated H.R. 1628 would leave 23 million more people uninsured in 2026 than under current law and said less healthy people, including people with preexisting medical conditions, would face extremely high premiums in waiver states.
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Congress.gov says H.R. 986 had the status Passed House and that the bill nullified 2018 Treasury and HHS State Relief and Empowerment Waivers guidance affecting ACA waiver standards.
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The House Clerk records Roll Call 196 on H.R. 986 as passed 230-183, 1 present; Rep. Higgins (LA), Republican, Louisiana, voted No.
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Congress.gov says H.R. 1425 passed the House and would expand premium tax credits, fund exchanges and affordability assistance, nullify expanded short-term limited-duration plans, and require exchange network adequacy standards.
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The House Clerk records Roll Call 124 on H.R. 1425 as passed 234-179; Rep. Higgins (LA), Republican, Louisiana, voted Nay.
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Roll Call 349 lists H.R. 6703, vote question On Passage, status Passed, and Higgins (LA) as Yea.
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The engrossed bill says association health plans may not deny coverage based on a pre-existing condition.
Assessments
Higgins has a mixed and partly contrary voting record on this promise. During the relevant federal House service, he voted for the 2017 AHCA, which CBO found would worsen access and premiums for some people with pre-existing conditions, and later voted against House-passed bills directly framed around protecting pre-existing-condition coverage and ACA affordability/network standards. A later-term Yea vote on H.R. 6703 provides some aligned evidence because the bill included language barring association health plans from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions, but it was limited in scope, only House-passed on this record, and does not establish full protection or access to trusted doctors. This supports partial credit, not full delivery.
The relevant federal record shows Higgins did not continue voting for legislation that protected people with pre-existing conditions or ensured access to trusted doctors. He voted for the 2017 AHCA, which CBO found would increase uninsured rates and expose less healthy people, including those with pre-existing conditions, to extremely high premiums in waiver states. He later voted against House-passed bills specifically aimed at preserving or strengthening ACA pre-existing-condition protections and coverage standards, including H.R. 986 in 2019 and H.R. 1425 in 2020. These votes run against the promised outcome rather than delivering it.