Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement on a report from the National Center for Health Statistics which indicated that the number of Americans without health insurance decreased by 15.8 million, or one-third, since 2013. The percentage of people without health insurance has declined to 9.2 percent, from 14.4 percent in 2013.

“I was proud to work with my colleagues in Congress and President Obama on the Affordable Care Act, which has already reduced the number of Americans without health insurance by almost sixteen million, and has improved the quality of medical care for everyone by requiring all health insurance plans to provide comprehensive medical services, such as annual physical examinations without a co-payment. The expansion of health insurance coverage has allowed millions of Americans, particularly in communities of color, to finally access the medical care that will prevent chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and asthma. An estimated 50,000 lives have already been saved as a result of the Affordable Care Act, and more than one million people in New York State have enrolled in an insurance plan with New York State of Health. Now, we must continue our work to expand access to health care, by keeping people aware of the excellent choices available, encouraging every state to expand Medicaid as provided under the law, and investing in the medical research that will ultimately create the forms of treatment and prescription drugs that save more lives and improve the quality of health for everyone,” said Congresswoman Clarke, who as a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee developed the Twenty-First Century Cures Act, which will expand our investment in the National Institutes of Health by $8 billion in the next decade, increase the diversity of medical researchers, and allow more young women and young men to enter the profession by reducing their student loan debt.

Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke is a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce in the House of Representatives, a member of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, as well as the Committee on Ethics and the Committee of Small Business. She represents many neighborhoods in central and southern Brooklyn, NY which include Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, parts of Park Slope and Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.