Healthcare Is an Environmental Issue

NRDC, together with other environmental groups, calls on Congress to support the Affordable Care Act and Planned Parenthood.

NRDC works to foster safe and healthy environments for families and communities across the country, and access to insurance coverage and preventive health services are critical to that effort. That’s why, together with 16 other environmental organizations, we are urging Congress to oppose the repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the federal defunding of important healthcare providers like Planned Parenthood.

“The Republican effort to unravel health insurance will imperil millions of people,” Scott Slesinger, NRDC’s legislative director said. “And it would be especially harmful to those whose health is already threatened by pollution, many of whom live in impoverished communities.”

Across the United States, residents are already experiencing the devastating health impacts of climate change and industrial pollution—and low-income communities and communities of color are often forced to bear the heaviest burden of these environmental harms. Front-line communities are also the least likely to have access to affordable health care. The ACA has provided coverage for these—and millions of other—Americans since its enactment in 2010. Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood, often the only health-care provider for low-income women, provides critical services like screenings and treatment for infections and illnesses that millions of patients might not otherwise be able to access.

Living in safe and healthy communities includes the right to quality and affordable health care, and the Affordable Care Act and Planned Parenthood are essential to delivering that necessity. Last Thursday, NRDC, Sierra Club, and the 15 other environmental groups sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Speaker Paul Ryan, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi urging support of the Affordable Care Act and Planned Parenthod. You can read the letter here.