June 2024

Trump’s Insulin Lies Were Immediately Debunked By Independent Fact Checkers

Last night, President Biden and Donald Trump took the debate stage for the first time in the 2024 election cycle. In an effort to run from his disastrous health care record, Donald Trump tried to take credit for lowering insulin costs for seniors. That’s a lie. In reality, President Biden and Democrats in Congress are the ones who capped insulin costs for seniors at $35 per month, and they also pressured drug companies to cap costs for everyone. 

Here’s the truth: The prospect of another Donald Trump presidency means health care is on the chopping block. The MAGA Republican Party, led by Donald Trump wants to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act and Affordable Care Act, slash Medicaid and Medicare funding, repeal protections for pre-existing conditions, raise prescription drug and premium costs, and strip away health care from millions of Americans all while giving tax breaks to billionaires, CEOs and corporations. The contrast could not be more clear as President Biden continues his work to lower prescription drug prices and premium costs for people across the nation. 

FACT CHECK

LIE: Trump Lowered Insulin Prices Trump said, “I’m the one that got the insulin down for the seniors. I took care of the seniors.” 

REALITY:  Trump had four years to take action on drug prices, but instead, he did nothing and now he’ll lie and say anything to cover up his failures. In reality, drug prices soared under Trump. During his first year in office, the list prices of 20 of the top 25 drugs covered by Medicare Part D increased between three and nine times the rate of inflation, according to KFF. AARP found that annual drug costs for the drugs most commonly used by seniors rose 5.8 percent in 2018, more than twice the rate of inflation. Likewise, drug prices increased an average of 21 percent in 2019 and rose faster than inflation in 2020. Further, Trump put profits over people and gave billions in tax breaks to drug and health insurance companies and executives, signing a $1.5 trillion tax bill disproportionately benefiting the wealthy and reducing the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent.

SIDE-BY-SIDE: DONALD TRUMP AND PRESIDENT BIDEN ON HEALTH CARE

Later tonight, President Biden and Donald Trump will take the stage for the first presidential debate of the 2024 election.

From day one, the Biden administration has fought tooth and nail to lower costs and make affordable health care a reality for seniors and families across the nation. President Biden has expanded affordable coverage, lowered prescription drug costs, strengthened Medicaid for moms and kids, and worked to reduce inequities in care. On the other hand, Donald Trump has also fully reignited his war on health care as record numbers rely on the ACA for affordable coverage. Repealing the ACA means millions of Americans would lose coverage, costs would skyrocket, and people with pre-existing conditions would lose essential protections. The contrast could not be more clear:

***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR THURSDAY, JUNE 27 AT 10:30 AM ET***

Georgians will Highlight How President Biden and Congressional Democrats Lowered Health Care and Rx Drug Costs, While Trump and Republicans Are Escalating Their Health Care Attacks 

Atlanta, GA – On Thursday, June 27 at 10:30 AM ET, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock and health advocates will join Protect Our Care Georgia, ahead of the first presidential debate of 2024, to call out Donald Trump and Republicans for their escalating attacks on health care for Georgians and people across America. As Donald Trump intensifies his threats to repeal the ACA, Republican lawmakers and their allies are attempting to dismantle reproductive care, hike premiums, slash Medicare and Medicaid, reverse recent coverage gains, and raise prescription drug costs for tens of millions of Americans. The first general election presidential debate will take place on June 27 in Atlanta, GA.

Thanks to the policies championed by President Biden and Congressional Democrats, this year a record 21.3 million people nationwide signed up for coverage under the ACA marketplaces, seniors are saving on insulin and vaccine costs, and Medicare is negotiating lower prices for some of the costliest drugs on the market. While extremist Republicans work to rip away health care from Georgians, President Biden and Congressional Democrats are committed to protecting and strengthening health care by making lower ACA premiums permanent to keep plans affordable for the 1.3 million Georgians enrolled, extending prescription drug savings to everyone, protecting people with pre-existing conditions, and expanding Medicaid. 

WHO: 

U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock
State Representative Dr. Michelle Au
Teresa Acosta, a single mother of three from Dunwoody, who relies on the Affordable Care Act
Jimmy Witherspoon, a diabetic from Atlanta with high out of pocket drug costs

WHAT: Press Conference

WHERE: 501 Pulliam St SW, Suite 400, Atlanta, GA 30312

WHEN: Thursday, June 27 at 10:30 AM ET

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New Poll Comes As President Joe Biden and Donald Trump Are Set to Take the Debate Stage on Thursday 

View the Polling Deck Here. 

Watch the Full Event Here.

Washington, D.C. — Ahead of the first presidential debate, President of Hart Research Geoff Garin joined Protect Our Care to release new polling and highlight how health care remains a top issue to voters. The new Hart Research polling tells a powerful story of the importance for President Biden and Democrats in Congress to keep health care issues front and center during this year’s election, and it includes an oversampling of Black, Latino, and battleground voters. Health care continues to be a winning issue: 

• A large majority of voters say health care is an important issue for them in this year’s elections – nearly half say it is very important.
• Standing up to drug companies to reduce prescription costs provides Democrats with a compelling way to connect with voters’ most important pocketbook concerns, as do policies to lower health insurance premiums.
• Democrats win the debate by large margins on voters’ most important health care priorities.
• GOP-backed policies that threaten access to affordable health care alienated significant portions of the Republican base.

“On the issues related to health care, the public is not divided,” said President of Hart Research Geoff Garin. “Even with very clear partisan cues, Democrats have very significant advantages on these issues. We are recommending that Democrats up and down the ballot lean into the issue of health care because it’s something that a large majority of voters care about, especially in this year’s election. Leaning into health care issues is the best way for Democrats to meet voters where they are in terms of their concerns about the cost of living. Meanwhile, there are a number of policies supported by Republicans in Congress and Donald Trump that most Americans oppose and significant segments of the Republican base are alienated by. ”

“The American people are loud and clear: health care is a top priority as we march towards November,” said Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach. “Democrats want to lower costs, Republicans want to raise costs, it’s that simple. But as MAGA Republicans are doubling down on their health care attacks, our new polling confirms Democratic health care policies are widely popular and gain broad, bipartisan support.  While Democrats have delivered lower costs for people across the nation, Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans are fighting to rip health care away from millions by repealing the Inflation Reduction Act and Affordable Care Act, slashing Medicaid and Medicare funding, dismantling protections for pre-existing conditions, and raising prescription drug and premium costs. These Republican priorities are unpopular across the board and completely out of step with the American people.”

Key Findings: 

A large majority (80%) of voters say that the issue of health care will be very or fairly important to them in voting this year, including 48% who say it will be very important. 

59% of voters agree more with Biden and Democrats in Congress on protecting and strengthening the ACA than with Trump and Republicans on repealing the ACA. 

There is broad support (84%) for proactive legislation to expand the drug pricing reforms in the Inflation Reduction Act, including 47% who say they strongly support extending the reforms.

The likelihood of voting for a Republican candidate dramatically drops based on Medicare policy proposals with 68% saying they much less like or somewhat less likely to vote for a candidate who voted to cut tens of billions of dollars in funding for Medicare. 

77% of voters have a somewhat or very favorable opinion of Medicaid with 39% having a very favorable opinion of Medicaid. These results show that Democrats benefit from pushing back hard against Republican proposals for draconian cuts to Medicaid.

If President Trump is known for one thing, it’s stretching the truth (also known as lying), and his health care record is no exception. Trump’s record is defined by one act of sabotage after another but he hopes Americans believe his outrageous lies like how he “saved” protections for pre-existing conditions. In reality, Trump’s agenda has been all about ripping health care away and putting insurance and drug companies back in charge to hike costs on Americans. From trying to eliminate protections for pre-existing conditions, to gutting funding for Medicaid and his allegiance to drug companies over patients, here are the top five lies about health care that you will hear from Donald Trump at Thursday’s debate: 

1. LIE: Trump Lowered Drug Prices Trump will claim that, “Low INSULIN PRICING was gotten for millions of Americans by me, and the Trump Administration, not by Crooked Joe Biden”  or that he “lowered drug costs by “80 or 90 percent” and that insulin was “as cheap as water.”
   
   REALITY:  Trump had four years to take action on drug prices, but instead, he did nothing and now he’ll lie and say anything to cover up his failures. In reality, drug prices soared under Trump. During his first year in office, the list prices of 20 of the top 25 drugs covered by Medicare Part D increased between three and nine times the rate of inflation, according to KFF. AARP found that annual drug costs for the drugs most commonly used by seniors rose 5.8 percent in 2018, more than twice the rate of inflation. Likewise, drug prices increased an average of 21 percent in 2019 and rose faster than inflation in 2020. Further, Trump put profits over people and gave billions in tax breaks to drug and health insurance companies and executives, signing a $1.5 trillion tax bill disproportionately benefiting the wealthy and reducing the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent.
2. LIE:  Trump has a “phenomenal” health care plan.  Trump will say that he’s going to be introducing a ​​“terrific,” “phenomenal” and “fantastic” new health care plan to replace the Affordable Care Act – and it will be ready in “two weeks.”
   
   REALITY: Trump has been promising this “phenomenal” new health plan in “two weeks” for nearly eight years now, but his record on ripping away Americans’ health care is clear.  Census data revealed the uninsured rate rose during Trump’s tenure for the first time since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. The rate increased from 7.9 percent in 2017 to 8.5 percent in 2018, or by approximately 2 million people.  During his first term, Trump notoriously tried and failed multiple times to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). All of the repeal bills that went through Congress would have caused millions of Americans to lose their health coverage and raised premiums for millions more. Trump’s repeal efforts would have ended Medicaid as we know it, putting the health care of children, seniors, working families, and people with disabilities at risk. During his 2024 campaign Trump has repeatedly reignited his calls to “terminate” the Affordable Care Act, which he claims is a “disaster,” and his MAGA allies in Congress are seeking to dismantle the Inflation Reduction Act and its provisions making prescription drugs and health care premiums more affordable for tens of millions of Americans.
3. LIE: Trump will protect Medicaid. For years Trump has lied and promised that he will “protect your Medicare and your Medicaid.”
   
   REALITY:  Under Trump’s first term, more than one million children lost Medicaid coverage between 2017 and 2019.  A second Trump term will see a renewed war on Medicaid laid out in the “Project 2025” agenda released by Trump’s allies at the Heritage Foundation, which includes onerous paperwork requirements and block grants that would force radical cuts to Medicaid. These tried and failed policies are designed to throw people off of their coverage. Between encouraging states to impose red tape and paperwork requirements masquerading as work requirements, the first Trump administration worked tirelessly to dismantle Medicaid. After Arkansas imposed the nation’s first so-called “work requirements” program, more than 18,000 residents lost Medicaid coverage. Although state efforts were blocked by a federal judge several times, the Trump administration fought relentlessly to impose work reporting requirements in Medicaid and red state governors are already preparing draconian cuts and onerous requirements for Medicaid recipients should Trump take office again.
4. LIE: Trump will never cut a single penny from Medicare. Trump has vowed dozens of times never to cut Medicare and last year posted a video claiming that, “Under no circumstances should Republicans vote to cut a single penny from Medicare or Social Security.”
   
   REALITY:  Trump’s budgets included cuts to Medicare and Social Security every single year that he was in office and as recently as March of 2024 he proposed “entitlements” reform that could put the health and financial security of millions of American seniors at risk. For example, Trump’s proposed federal budget in 2019 alone would have cut funding for Medicare by more than $800 billion and repealed the ACA.
5. LIE: Everyone is happy with overturning Roe v. Wade and the GOP is the “party of fertilization.”  Trump will tie himself in knots on abortion rights and reproductive care, claiming that “all legal scholars, both sides” wanted Roe v. Wade overturned and now “we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint.”  He’ll lie and say that abortion is “not that big of an issue” and even that the GOP is the “party of fertilization.”REALITY:  Donald Trump is responsible for the repeal of Roe v. Wade and the devastating consequences for reproductive health. Trump boasts that his appointees to the Supreme Court “broke Roe v. Wade” and the consequences for women’s health have been catastrophic, from cruel and archaic abortion bans to devastating uncertainty about access to IVF and other reproductive care.  A second term would see more extreme judicial appointments and an all out push to use the Comstock Act to create a de facto national ban on abortions and sharply limit access to medications like mifepristone.

 ***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26 AT 11:30 AM ET***

Protect Our Care Will Release Key Findings From National and Battleground State Polling Which Shows Health Care Remains a Top Issue for Voters

Washington, D.C. — On Wednesday, June 26, 2024, at 11:30 AM ET, President of Hart Research Geoff Garin will join Protect Our Care for a virtual press conference ahead of the first presidential debate to highlight new polling and how health care remains a top issue to voters. The survey – which includes an oversampling of Black, Latino, and battleground voters – covers topics ranging from Democrats’ health care accomplishments to the MAGA health care agenda to protecting the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, and Medicaid to lowering prescription drug prices.

Trump is once again running on ripping health care away from millions of Americans and putting insurance and drug companies back in charge. Repealing the ACA means ripping away protections for the over 135 million Americans with pre-existing conditions, hiking premium costs for millions of working families, and putting insurance companies back in charge, allowing them to deny basic care like hospital visits and prescription drugs. 

On the other hand, President Biden and Democrats in Congress have expanded affordable coverage, lowered prescription drug costs, strengthened Medicaid for moms and kids, and worked to reduce inequities in care. From day one, the Biden administration has fought tooth and nail to lower costs and make affordable health care a reality for seniors and families across the nation. 

PRESS CALL:

WHO:
Geoff Garin, President, Hart Research
Anne Shoup, Communications Director, Protect Our Care
Leslie Dach, Chair, Protect Our Care

WHAT: Virtual Press Conference

WHERE: Register for the Event Here

WHEN: Wednesday, June 26, 2024 at 11:30 AM ET

***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR MONDAY JUNE 24 – THURSDAY JUNE 27***

This week, Protect Our Care will host events in 10 states ahead of the first presidential debate of 2024 to call out Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans for their escalating attacks on health care for people across America. As Donald Trump intensifies his threats to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Republican lawmakers and their allies are attempting to dismantle reproductive care, hike premiums, slash Medicare and Medicaid, reverse recent coverage gains, and raise prescription drug costs for tens of millions of Americans. The first presidential debate takes place this Thursday, June 27. 

Thanks to the policies championed by President Biden and congressional Democrats, this year a record 21.3 million people nationwide signed up for coverage under the ACA marketplaces, seniors are saving on insulin and vaccine costs, and Medicare is negotiating lower prices for some of the costliest drugs on the market. While extremist Republicans work on ripping away health care from families across the nation, President Biden and Congressional Democrats are committed to protecting and strengthening health care by making lower ACA premiums permanent, extending prescription drug savings to everyone, protecting people with pre-existing conditions, and expanding Medicaid.

MONDAY, JUNE 24

MICHIGAN

WHO:
State Rep. Laurie Pohutsky (D-17)
Dr. Farhan Bhatti, Physician, CEO of Care Free Medical
Eric Schneidewind, former AARP national president

WHAT: Virtual Press Conference

WHEN: Monday, June 24, at 11 AM ET

WHERE: Register here (Registration required)

PENNSYLVANIA

WHO:
Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis
State Rep. Carol Hill-Evans (D-95)
York County Commissioner Doug Hoke
York Mayor Michael Helfrich
Michael Berman, Protect Our Care Pennsylvania 

WHAT: Press Conference

WHEN: Monday, June 24, at 11 AM ET

WHERE: White Rose Senior Center, 27 S. Broad St. York, PA 17403

TUESDAY, JUNE 25

NORTH CAROLINA

WHO:
State Sen. Natalie Murdock (D-20)
Dr. Jenna Beckham, OB/GYN
Vanessa Watson, Protect Our Care North Carolina

WHAT: Virtual Press Conference

WHEN: Tuesday, June 25 at 11:30 AM ET

WHERE: Register here (Registration required)

NEW YORK

WHO:
State Senator Lea Webb, Women’s Issues Committee Chair (D-52)
Mary Clark, Regional Director of Citizen Action of New York
Lori Wahila, Co-Lead of Indivisible Binghamton

WHAT: Press Conference

WHEN: Tuesday, June 25th, at 12:00 PM ET

WHERE: Peacemakers Stage, 7 Court St, Binghamton, NY 13901

WISCONSIN

WHO:
Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski
Kiersten, healthcare storyteller
Advocates

WHAT: Virtual Press Conference

WHEN: Tuesday, June 25 at 3:00 PM CT // 4 PM ET

WHERE: Register here (Registration required)

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26

OHIO

WHO:
State Rep. Anita Somani (OH-11)
Lucas County Commissioner Lisa Sobeski
Franklin County Commissioner Erika Crawley
Leonard Stovall, healthcare storyteller
Brodie Musser, healthcare storyteller
Daniel Van Hoogstraten, Protect Our Care Ohio

WHAT: Virtual Press Conference

WHEN: Wednesday, June 26 at 11:30 AM ET 

WHERE: Register here (Registration required)

CALIFORNIA

WHO:
Speakers TBA

WHAT: Virtual Press Conference

WHEN: Wednesday, June 26 at 10 AM PT // 1 PM ET

WHERE: Register here (Registration required)

NEVADA

WHO:
State Senator Dina Neal (D-04)
State Rep. Selena Torres, Assembly Majority Whip (D-03)
State Rep. Elaine Marzola (D-21)

WHAT: Virtual Press Conference

WHEN: ​​Wednesday, June 26 at 11 AM PT // 2 PM ET

WHERE: Register here (Registration required)

THURSDAY, JUNE 27

GEORGIA

WHO:
Senator Rev. Raphael Warnock (D-GA)
State Rep. Dr. Michelle Au (D-50)
Teresa Acosta, ACA storyteller

WHAT: Press Conference

WHEN: Thursday, June 27 at 10:30 AM ET

WHERE: TBA

VIRGINIA

WHO:
State Senate Health Committee Chair Ghazala Hashmi
Katie Baker, Protect Our Care Virginia

WHAT: Virtual Press Conference

WHEN: Thursday, June 27 at 10 AM ET

WHERE: Register here (Registration required)

PREVIOUS

NEW YORK

WHO:
Congressman Pat Ryan
Dr. Dara Kass, Former HHS Regional Director
Susan Chodkowski, 1199 SEIU Member
Mark Hannay, Director of Metro NY Health Care for All

WHEN: Thursday, June 27 at 10 AM ET

WHERE: Watch the event here, Read the release here

Two Years After Overturning Roe v. Wade, MAGA Republicans Continue To Attack Reproductive Health Care Access

Two years ago today, the MAGA Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending nearly half a century of constitutionally protected abortion rights. Ever since, attacks on reproductive health care from MAGA Republicans have skyrocketed, imperiling access to reproductive care for millions of Americans across the country. Despite the Supreme Court’s recent ruling rejecting a challenge to the abortion medication mifepristone, access to reproductive care is still under threat from the MAGA court. They will soon decide whether politicians can deny emergency medical care to pregnant people under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), while MAGA Republicans elsewhere are pushing hard to limit access to contraception, pass a national abortion ban, undermine the Affordable Care Act, and even ban in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Republicans have done nothing but push to limit access to essential reproductive care. On the anniversary of Roe being overturned, we must continue to hold them accountable for waging war on reproductive freedom. Here’s how reproductive care is still under threat:

1. Abortion Access Remains Under Threat. Two years ago, Donald Trump’s appointees to the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and the consequences for women’s health have been catastrophic, with cruel and archaic abortion bans spreading across the country. Even though the MAGA court just rejected a challenge to abortion drug mifepristone, the case will return to the MAGA-packed Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals for further review. Republicans will not be deterred by the SCOTUS ruling, which rejected the challenge only on standing, paving the way for a future challenge to succeed on the merits of the case. At least 67 Republican members of Congress and 22 Republican attorneys general supported the push to ban mifepristone, and if MAGA Republicans get their way there will be even more extreme judicial appointments and an all-out push to use the Comstock Act to create a de facto national ban on abortions and sharply limit access to medications.
2. Emergency Reproductive Care Is On The Chopping Block. The Supreme Court still has a case in front of them awaiting a decision, Idaho and Moyle, et al. v. United States, that challenges the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) and threatens to jail doctors for providing critical care to save pregnant patients. This case, brought by extreme right-wing politicians, seeks to deny pregnant patients who are experiencing a medical crisis the emergency abortion care they may need to prevent serious health consequences, including death.
3. Republicans and Red State Judges Are Threatening Fertility Treatments Like IVF Through Extreme, Anti-Choice Policies. Earlier this year, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos should be considered children, putting the future of in vitro fertilization (IVF) in jeopardy. Republicans have made it clear that they have no intention to protect reproductive health care in the post-Roe landscape, and Republicans in other states like Idaho are joining in, pushing anti-choice policies that create extreme uncertainty for reproductive health care access. Senate Republicans have moved to block legislation to protect IVF and other fertility treatments multiple times, with all but two Senate Republicans voting against codifying federal protections just last week.
4. Trump And His Closest Allies Are Pushing To Restrict Access To Contraception. Trump and his MAGA allies are developing a blueprint for a second Trump administration to restrict birth control through a series of executive actions, and Trump recently said he was “looking at” imposing new policy restrictions on contraception. The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 plan includes numerous proposals that would require coverage of so-called “natural planning” contraceptive strategies and remove requirements that insurance cover certain forms of emergency contraception.
   • The Trump Administration Already Made It Harder To Access Reproductive Health Care. The Trump administration took multiple steps to make it harder for women, people of color, and LGBTQI+ Americans to access reproductive health care. As President, Trump allowed more employers to opt out of birth control coverage in their workers’ health insurance. For example, in August 2019, the Trump administration began enforcing a rule that bars certain federally-funded clinics from referring women for abortions. As a result, the nation’s largest recipient of Title X funds, Planned Parenthood, was forced to exit the program, losing $60 million in funding previously used to provide birth control and reproductive health care services for low-income women.
5. MAGA Republicans Are Targeting The Affordable Care Act, Which Provides Free Contraception. The Affordable Care Act’s contraception coverage requirement has drastically improved health care access and affordability for tens of millions of Americans. The benefits have reached far and wide — improving health outcomes and sharply cutting out-of-pocket costs. Despite the overwhelming success of the ACA’s contraception coverage, Republicans have attempted to eliminate this essential care year after year through legislation and litigation. Republicans have spent years taking dozens of failed votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act. They have also taken their fight to overturn the ACA to the Supreme Court and failed all three times. This year extremists are still challenging a provision of the ACA that requires insurers to cover lifesaving preventive services for free. The case, known as Braidwood v. Becerra, is set to be decided by a panel of judges at the MAGA-packed Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. During his first term, Donald Trump notoriously tried and failed multiple times to repeal the ACA and throughout his 2024 campaign Trump has repeatedly reignited his calls to “terminate” the Affordable Care Act, which he claims is a “disaster.” By taking these actions, Republicans are fighting to strip protections that provide access to reproductive care. 
   • The ACA Made Access To Birth Control Free For Over 60 Million Americans. The ACA guarantees that private health plans cover 18 methods of contraception and make them available to 58 million patients with no out-of-pocket costs. More than 99 percent of sexually active women have used contraceptives at some point in their lifetimes, and approximately 60 percent of women of reproductive age currently use at least one birth control method. In addition to increasing access to this essential treatment, this ACA provision has saved money for women and their families: women saved $1.4 billion on birth control pills alone in 2013.
6. Republicans Are Waging a War on Medicaid, Which Covers Reproductive Health Care For Millions of Americans. Medicaid, which covers tens of millions of Americans, is an essential source of reproductive health care. Republicans in Congress and Donald Trump are itching for a renewed war on Medicaid. The latest proposals from the Republican Study Committee and the Trump team in-waiting at the Heritage Foundation would throw millions of people off their coverage through block granting and burdensome work reporting requirements. Almost two-thirds, or 62 percent, of those who would lose their Medicaid coverage as a result of work requirements, are women and disproportionately women of color.

MAGA Fifth Circuit Upholds Nationwide Protections But Rules Extremist Plaintiffs Not Required to Cover Preventive Care

Washington, DC — Today, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld nationwide coverage of the critical benefits endorsed by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force in Braidwood Management v. Becerra, protecting free preventive care for more than 150 million Americans. The court also ruled that the employers who brought the case do not have to cover these preventive services through their health plans, and sent back to the district court the questions of whether employers must continue to cover preventive services recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The decision leaves free preventive services at risk as the case proceeds through the legal system and opens the door to further litigation.

This case – brought by extremist, longtime foes of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), abortion rights and reproductive freedom, marriage equality, vaccination mandates, and diversity policies – aimed to invalidate critical benefits endorsed by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, including lifesaving lung, breast, and colorectal cancer screenings, anxiety and depression screenings for children and adults, heart disease screenings, intimate partner violence screenings, and access to PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis), which can reduce the chance of contracting HIV.

In response, Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach issued the following statement: 

“Thankfully this decision today by the Fifth Circuit didn’t take access to preventive care away from the more than 150 million Americans who rely on it, but unfortunately this lifesaving care is still under threat from MAGA Republicans. Millions of Americans can breathe a sigh of relief knowing they can continue to access free lifesaving services, such as routine screenings for cancer, diabetes, mental health, and heart disease, recommended vaccinations, contraception and pregnancy-related care, and more. But the MAGA agenda is clear: rip away health care from millions of families, hike costs, and put insurance and drug companies back in charge. The MAGA Republican ‘Project 2025’ blueprint calls for repealing the ACA completely. Families across the nation deserve access to lifesaving care at little to no cost so they will not be forced to choose between going to the doctor and paying for other essentials like groceries and rent.” 

Background

Braidwood v. Becerra Appeal Aims To Rip Away Guaranteed Free Preventive and Reproductive Health Services From More Than 150 Million Americans

***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR THURSDAY JUNE 20th AT 2:30 PM ET***

Advocates will Highlight How President Biden and Congressional Democrats Lowered Health Care and Rx Drug Costs, While Trump and MAGA Republicans Are Escalating Their Health Care Attacks 

New York, NY  – On June 20, at 2:30 PM ET, Congressman Pat Ryan, 1199 SEIU, former HHS Regional Director Dr. Dara Kass, and storytellers will join Protect Our Care New York ahead of the first 2024 presidential debate to call out Donald Trump and Rep. Nick LaLota (NY-01), Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (NY-04), Rep. Mike Lawler (NY-17), Rep. Marc Molinaro (NY-19) and Rep. Brandon Williams (NY-22) for their escalating attacks on the ability of New Yorkers and all Americans to access affordable health care. As Trump intensifies his threats to repeal the Affordable Care Act, New York’s Republican lawmakers–including Reps. Anthony D’Esposito (NY-4), Mike Lawler (NY-17), Marc Molinaro (NY-19), and Brandon Williams (NY-22)–and their allies are attempting to raise prescription drug costs for tens of millions of Americans, reverse coverage expansion under the ACA and Inflation Reduction Act, and slash Medicare and Medicaid. This year’s first Presidential Debate will take place on June 27 in Atlanta, GA.

While extremist Republicans work to rip away health care from New Yorkers, speakers will highlight how President Biden and Congressional Democrats are committed to protecting and strengthening health care by reducing prescription drug costs for all Americans, permanently lowering ACA premiums to keep plans affordable for the thousands of New Yorkers enrolled, protecting people with pre-existing conditions, and expanding Medicaid. 

WHO:
Congressman Pat Ryan
Dr. Dara Kass, Former HHS Regional Director
Susan Chodkowski, 1199 SEIU Member
Mark Hannay, Director of Metro NY Health Care for All

WHAT: Virtual Press Conference

WHEN: Thursday, June 20th at 2:30 PM ET 

WHERE: Register to join the Zoom event (Registration required)