***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR SATURDAY, MARCH 23 AT10 AM PT // 1 PM ET***
President Biden and Congressional Democrats are Building on the ACA by Lowering Costs and Expanding Health Care for Nevadans, while Trump and Congressional Republicans Threaten Repeal
Las Vegas, NV– On Saturday, March 23 at 10 AM PT // 1 PM ET, Congresswoman Dina Titus, For Our Future and Protect Our Care Nevada will celebrate the 14th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act and highlight how the law has protected people with pre-existing conditions, lowered costs for people who buy the own coverage, and increased access to quality, affordable health care for Nevadans since it’s passage. President Biden and congressional Democrats are committed to building on and protecting the historic successes of the ACA by making lower Marketplace premiums permanent to keep plans affordable for the 96,706 Nevadans enrolled, lowering prescription drug prices, cracking down on junk plans, and expanding Medicaid. A record breaking 21 millionAmericans enrolled in health coverage through ACA marketplaces for 2024, an increase of approximately 8 million since President Biden took office.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump and Republicans are threatening to repeal the ACA, despite record-setting enrollment numbers and the law’s overwhelming popularity. Repealing the ACA means losing protections for the135 millionAmericans with pre-existing conditions, dramatically increasing premium costs, ending coverage for young people on their parents’ health plan until age 26, and ripping away access to preventive services without cost-sharing. It will also reverse the progress made to eliminate health equity disparities. Speakers will contrast Republican efforts to cut Medicaid and rip away health care with the Biden administration’s record of ensuring health care remains accessible and affordable for Nevadans and Americans across the country.
PRESS CALL
WHO:
Congresswoman Dina Titus
For Our Future
Protect Our Care Nevada Director Sandra Jauregui
WHAT: 14 Years of the Affordable Care Act Rally
WHEN: Saturday, March 23 at 10 AM PT // 1 PM ET
WHERE: Martin Luther King Jr. Senior Center, 2420 N M.L.K. Blvd Building B, North Las Vegas, NV 89032 or Livestream Here
Today marks the 14th anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In the years since President Obama signed the ACA into law, it has become woven into the fabric of our nation. Thanks to President Biden’s efforts to lower the cost of health care, a record-breaking 21.3 million Americans signed up for coverage through the Marketplaces for 2024. The Inflation Reduction Act has built on the law’s strong foundation by lowering premiums for people who buy their own coverage by an average of $2,400 a year per family.
The ACA is not just about coverage. It includes a broad range of cost savings and protections that touch nearly every household in the country. For example, if the ACA is repealed, over 135 million Americans with pre-existing conditions would lose critical protections, 50 million seniors would have to pay more for prescription drugs, and insurance companies would not be required to cover preventative care, such as vaccinations, contraception, and cancer screening. Here are 14 things to know about the ACA:
More Americans than ever have signed up for coverage through the Marketplaces. In 2024, a record-breaking 21.3 million people signed up for health coverage through the ACA Marketplace. This is the highest number of Americans to ever enroll in an Open Enrollment Period. Families are now saving an average of $2,400 a year on their health insurance premiums.
Not a single Republican voted to pass the Affordable Care Act. 14 years ago, not a single Republican voted for the ACA and since then, they have continuously called for repeal. The repeal attempts started in 2016, when Republicans passed the Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015, only to be vetoed by President Obama. 2017 brought numerous attempts at repeal all of which failed to pass and become law.
Millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions are protected. Because of the ACA, insurers in the individual market can no longer drop or deny coverage, or charge more because of a pre-existing condition. An estimated 129 million Americans havea pre-existing health condition.
The ACA requires free preventive care. Because of the ACA, health plans must cover preventive services — like flu shots, cancer screenings, contraception, and mammograms – at no cost to consumers. This includes the 179 million Americans with employer coverage. Importantly, the ACA requires plans to cover all vaccinations recommended by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP),includingvaccines for COVID-19.
Prescription drugs are considered essential. Thanks to the ACA, insurers have to cover what are known as “essential health benefits,” and that includes prescription drugs. This required all health insurance plans to cover at least one drug in every category and class of approved medicines. The ACA has also increased access to affordable drugs. The ACA’s Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act paved the way for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve biosimilars, cheaper alternatives to expensive biologics. This provision is projected to save $54 billion between 2017 and 2026.
Women no longer can be charged more than men for the same coverage. Because of the ACA, insurers can no longer charge women more than men for the same coverage, and insurers are now required to cover important health benefits like maternity care. Before the ACA, only 12 percent of individual market plans offered maternity care. The ACA established maternity coverage as one of the ten essential health benefits required on all new individual and small group policies. The American Rescue Plan created a pathway to coverage for pregnant Americans, allowing states to extend postpartum coverage under Medicaid from 60 days to 12 months following pregnancy.
More than 60 million gained access to birth control with no out-of-pocket costs. 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. This ACA provision has saved money for women and their families: women saved $1.4 billion on birth control pills alone in 2013.
The ACA ended annual and lifetime limits, including for people with employer-based coverage. Insurers can no longer put annual or lifetime limits on the care you receive. At the time the ACA was passed, 91 million Americans had health care through their employers that imposed lifetime limits. Many such plans capped benefits at $1 million, functionally locking people with complex medical needs out of coverage. 179 million Americans with employer coverage are protected from lifetime limits, in addition to the millions with ACA Marketplace coverage.
40 states plus the District of Columbia have expanded Medicaid coverage. Because of the ACA, states can expand Medicaid to millions of adults who previously did not qualify for affordable health care. Nearly 25 million Americans were enrolled in Medicaid thanks to Medicaid expansion. Between 2013 and 2020, states that expanded their programs saw a 33.9 percent increase in Medicaid enrollment.
Medicaid expansion has improved health outcomes and saved lives. A study published in the Journal of Health Economics found that Medicaid expansion reduced all-cause mortality in people aged 20 to 64 by 3.6 percent. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Medicaid expansion saved the lives of 19,200 older adults aged 55 to 64 between 2014 and 2017. At the same time, 15,600 older adults died prematurely as a result of their state’s decision not to expand the program.
Rural hospitals benefit from Medicaid expansion and lower premiums. Through lower premiums and expanded Medicaid, the ACA has profoundly reduced uncompensated care costs, which are often the direct result of individuals who are uninsured or underinsured. In 2019, uncompensated care costs in expansion states were less than half of those in non-expansion states. Compared to 2013, hospitals’ uncompensated care costs decreased by more than $14 billion in 2017, or 26 percent.
Medicaid expansion leads to a decrease in income inequality. A January 2021 study found the ACA helped reduce income inequality across the board, but far more dramatically in Medicaid expansion states. The bottom 10th percentile of earners In Medicaid expansion states saw a 22.4 percent boost in their income, compared to 11.4 percent in non-expansion states. A 2019 study found that Medicaid Expansion also caused a “significant” reduction in poverty.
Medicaid expansion leads to more access to preventive care services. Medicaid expansion has helped patients access preventive care, including colon cancer screenings and access to kidney transplants, and has made diabetes medication more affordable for low-income patients. Access to preventive care through Medicaid expansion reduced racial disparities in cancer care and resulted in earlier diagnosis and treatment for Black patients. According to the Center for American Progress, Black women were more likely to receive care because of the ACA.
Medicaid expansion and coverage through ACA marketplaces have improved infant and maternal health. Health coverage improves infant and maternal mortality outcomes. One study found that reductions in maternal mortality in expansion states were concentrated among Black mothers, “suggesting that expansion could be contributing to decreasing racial disparities in maternal mortality.” Expansion has also been tied to improving health outcomes for Black babies, significantly reducing racial disparities in low birth weight and premature birth.
As MAGA Republicans Refuse to Give Up on Their War on Health Care, A Record Number of People Rely on the ACA
Washington, D.C. — Fourteen years ago tomorrow, President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) into law, and millions of Americans gained access to quality, affordable health care as a result. Thanks to the tireless work of President Biden and Democrats in Congress, the 2024 open enrollment period was the most successful in history — a record-breaking 21.4 million Americans signed up for coverage. Coupled with the health law’s expansion of Medicaid, protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and cost-saving measures, the ACA has touched the lives of nearly every person in the nation. Read Protect Our Care’s ACA anniversary fact sheet here.
The ACA has survived countless repeal attempts, and now it’s stronger than ever. President Biden has shown what it means to make health care more affordable — he has lowered prescription drug costs for seniors, helped millions of families afford coverage, and taken on big drug companies and other corporate interests. Over 100 million Americans now rely on marketplace and Medicaid for coverage. Yet, Republicans still want to destroy the ACA and all of its protections for over 100 million people with pre-existing conditions. Just this week, they once again introduced a budget that would strip away protections for people with pre-existing conditions, increase insurance premiums and prescription drug costs, and put Medicaid coverage for millions in jeopardy. Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump sabotaged affordable health care and pre-existing condition protections while he was in office, and has renewed his calls to “terminate” the ACA at least seven times over the last several months.
“Fourteen years in, the law is now woven into the fabric of America and is only getting stronger,” said Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach. “Thanks to the ACA, millions of people with pre-existing conditions like diabetes or asthma are protected from being refused coverage or charged more for it, over 45 million people who get insurance on their own have affordable coverage thanks to premium tax credits and Medicaid expansion, and over 150 million patients have access to free cancer screenings and other preventive care. We’ve seen people’s health and financial security improve. The ACA has been essential to reducing inequities in health care and has laid a strong foundation to do more to ensure everyone — no matter who they are or where they live — has access to the health care they need.”
“On the ACA’s 14th anniversary, it’s important not to lose sight of Republicans’ war on health care,” said Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse. “They want to raise costs on families, they want to go back to a time where people with pre-existing conditions paid more, and they want to put big pharmaceutical and insurance companies back in charge. While President Biden and Democrats in Congress are working tirelessly to build on the ACA and expand affordable, quality health care to every American, the MAGA-Republicans are still fighting in Congress and in the courts to gut the ACA and undermine the law’s protections. Some things never change: Republicans want to gut health care, only taking us backwards and throwing the entire health care system into chaos.”
Washington, D.C. — Yesterday, Republican lawmakers in Georgia and Kansas shot down legislation to expand Medicaid in both states, blocking coverage for more than half a million people. Not only does refusing to expand Medicaid leave hundreds of thousands of people uninsured, but it also leaves critical funding on the table that could reduce health disparities, strengthen rural hospitals, and boost local economies. In response, Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement:
“Republicans in Georgia and Kansas are putting politics over the lives of their constituents. All but 10 states have adopted Medicaid expansion because of the results: it makes communities healthier, keeps hospitals open, increases families’ financial stability, and saves lives. Unfortunately, this is all part of the GOP’s decades-long war on American health care. They are not backing down on their fight to cut Medicaid and throw people off the rolls, and they want to repeal the Affordable Care Act and raise costs for middle-class Americans. It’s an absolute disgrace that MAGA Republicans are still trying to go backwards and sabotage the ACA and Medicaid — all for pure politics.”
Background:
Republicans Stopped More Than Half A Million People From Gaining Affordable Coverage. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that more than 430,000 Georgians and 150,000 Kansans would gain coverage if each state adopted Medicaid expansion.
***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR FRIDAY, MARCH 22 AT 10 AM CT // 11 AM ET***
Virtual Event Will Highlight Efforts To Build on the ACA by Lowering Costs and Expanding Health Care for Wisconsinites
WISCONSIN – On Friday, March 22nd at 10 AM CT // 11 AM ET, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin and Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul will join Protect Our Care Wisconsin to celebrate the 14th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act and highlight how the law has protected people with pre-existing conditions, lowered costs for people who buy their own coverage, and increased access to quality, affordable health care for Wisconsinites since it’s passage.
Speakers will also discuss efforts to build on and protect the historic successes of the ACA by making lower Marketplace premiums permanent to keep plans affordable for Wisconsinites, lowering prescription drug prices, cracking down on junk plans, and expanding Medicaid. A record-breaking 21 million Americans enrolled in health coverage through ACA marketplaces for 2024.
Despite the historic success of the Affordable Care Act, some are (still) threatening to repeal the ACA, despite record-setting enrollment numbers and the law’s overwhelming popularity. Repealing the ACA means losing protections for the 135 million Americans with pre-existing conditions, dramatically increasing premium costs, ending coverage for young people on their parent’s health plan until age 26, and ripping away access to preventive services without cost-sharing. It will also reverse the progress made to eliminate health equity disparities.
PRESS CALL
WHO: U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul Wisconsinites who have benefitted from the Affordable Care Act
***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR MONDAY, MARCH 18, 2024 AT 3:30 P.M.***
President Biden and Congressional Democrats are Building on the ACA by Lowering Costs and Expanding Health Care for North Carolinians
Raleigh, North Carolina – On Monday, March 18 at 3:30 p.m., U.S. Representative Deborah Ross (D-NC-02), State Senator Rachel Hunt, and NCDHHS Secretary Kody Kinsley will join Protect Our Care North Carolina to celebrate the 14th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act and highlight how the law has protected people with pre-existing conditions, lowered costs for people who buy the own coverage, and increased access to quality, affordable health care for North Carolinians since it’s passage. President Biden and congressional Democrats are committed to building on and protecting the historic successes of the ACA by making lower Marketplace premiums permanent to keep plans affordable for the over 1 million North Carolinians enrolled, lowering prescription drug prices, cracking down on junk plans, and expanding Medicaid. A record breaking 21 million Americans enrolled in health coverage through ACA marketplaces for 2024, an increase of approximately 8 million since President Biden took office.
North Carolinians are celebrating expanded Medicaid in the state. It has been a long fight for Governor Cooper and Democrats in the state. Finally, over 600,000 North Carolinians are eligible for Medicaid. With 1,000 people enrolling per day, Medicaid expansion is a success.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump and Republicans are threatening to repeal the ACA, despite record-setting enrollment numbers and the law’s overwhelming popularity. Repealing the ACA means losing protections for the 135 million Americans with pre-existing conditions, dramatically increasing premium costs, ending coverage for young people on their parents’ health plan until age 26, and ripping away access to preventive services without cost-sharing. It will also reverse the progress made to eliminate health equity disparities.
Speakers will contrast Republican efforts to cut Medicaid and rip away health care with the Biden administration’s record of ensuring health care remains accessible and affordable for North Carolinians and Americans across the country.
WHO: U.S. Representative Deborah Ross (D-NC-02) State Senator Rachel Hunt Secretary Kody Kinsley Protect Our Care North Carolina
***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR THURSDAY, MARCH 14TH @ 1:00 PM CT // 2:00 PM ET***
MILWAUKEE, WI — On Thursday, March 14th Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI-04) and NAACP Director of the Center for Health Equity Dr. Chris Pernell will join Protect Our Care Wisconsin to discuss a new report from Protect Our Care and the NAACP, detailing how the Inflation Reduction Act benefits Black Americans nationwide. Thanks to President Biden and Democrats in Congress, health care and prescription drugs are becoming more affordable for more people in the United States, and a record number of Black Americans have enrolled in low- or no-cost Affordable Care Act Marketplace plans.
Black Americans disproportionately face higher rates of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and barriers to accessing affordable care and medications. The Inflation Reduction Act is making health care costs more accessible by lowering premiums, negotiating costs on expensive drugs like Januvia and Jardiance, and capping the cost of insulin. Despite President Biden’s progress in lowering these costs, Congressional Republicans and their pharmaceutical allies are trying to reverse this progress by raising drug prices and making affordable care out of reach for millions, which would particularly harm Black Americans.
PRESS CALL
WHO: U.S. Representative Gwen Moore (D-WI-04) Dr. Chris Pernell; Director, Center for Health Equity, NAACP Milwaukee Residents and health care advocates
Washington, D.C. — Yesterday, Protect Our Care was joined by Former Solicitor General of the United States Don Verrilli, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and leading legal, economic, and health experts for an in-depth discussion of three key legal battles that threaten Americans’ health care. Ultra-conservative groups and big drug companies are suing to block Americans’ access to quality, affordable health care. Ongoing litigation threatens to repeal the Affordable Care Act requirement that insurers cover preventive services without cost sharing, to block Medicare from negotiating lower drug prices, and to throw our drug approval system into chaos by overturning the FDA’s approvals of mifepristone.
“First, don’t underestimate the determination and creativity of your adversaries, and don’t underestimate the attractiveness of the arguments and second, vigorous public engagement is absolutely vital,” said Former Solicitor General Don Verrilli. “These lessons are even more important now because arguments of the challenges that we’re going to be talking about today are going to appeal to some of the justices. It’s going to be vitally important to really push to take those arguments seriously. Figure out the most powerful legal responses and also engage in the same sort of effort to help the public understand just how misconceived the other side’s approach to the statute and how it works and just how horrible the consequences will be for millions of Americans if they succeed in their endeavors.”
“Americans have long paid the highest prices in the world for prescription medications and a lot of it has to do with the sweetheart deal that was written into a 2003 law,” said Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). “When something’s part of our law, that means Congress can change it – no matter what the pharmaceutical companies say. It’s not just about those numbers, it’s about the people. That’s why it’s so unacceptable and why we pushed so hard in the Inflation Reduction Act to get drug prices negotiated.”
“Under the leadership of President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Democrats in Congress, our country has made enormous progress in lowering health care and prescription drug costs, enrolling millions more Americans in affordable insurance coverage, and ensuring that coverage includes the lifesaving services people need,” said Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach. “But much of this progress is at risk because when opponents of affordable health care can’t get their way in Congress, they take their policy disputes to the courts to roll back progress. It’s important that Americans, their representatives in Congress, and advocates for affordable health care understand what is at stake for access to quality, affordable health care as ultra-conservative interest groups and corporations seek to roll back progress in the courts.”
Threats to Preventive Health Care (Braidwood v. Becerra)
“If you are low income, a dollar to five dollars of cost-sharing may mean you won’t get screened at all because it often is the amount of money you need to get to work or for your kids to have lunch,” said Dr. Georges Benjamin, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association. “When the ACA went into effect, there was a dramatic increase in people utilizing preventive health services. We also know that should this go away there’s a lot of evidence – both by experience and by survey – that the insurance companies and employers who are doing employer-based coverage will reimpose cost sharing.”
Threats to Lower Drug Costs (Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Cases)
“We’re not talking about an antibiotic that they’re going to take for a week, we’re talking about life-saving drugs that are going to keep them alive for several decades and when my patients don’t take their medications, their health declines,” said Dr. Christine Petrin, Board Chair of Doctors for America. “I have had difficulty convincing my patients to start taking these medications because of the cost. It’s really frustrating to go to medical school, study pharmacology and physiology, and read all these journal articles about how great these drugs are, and then not actually be able to use them because they’re not accessible to my patients. It’s like trying to practice medicine with my hands tied behind my back.”
Read our fact sheet on the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation cases here.
Threats to Reproductive Health Care and the Drug Approval System (Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA)
“One of the reasons why Americans across the country should be concerned about the potential outcome of this case is the overturning of an FDA decision and the effects on the approval process,” said William Schultz, Partner at Zuckerman Spaeder, and former General Counsel for the Department of Health and Human Services. “This can really diminish the confidence that patients, doctors, and health professionals have in drugs approved by the FDA. The inevitable result is it’s going to back up the process. They will require more studies. They will hesitate to approve improvements to drug labels. It will be slower in making these decisions, and the consequences of that are going to be patient lives – you’re talking about life-saving drugs.”
Read our fact sheet on Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDAhere.
Washington, D.C. — Today, President Biden released a proposed budget that builds on the progress of his administration to lower health care costs and improve care for people across the nation. In this budget, President Biden aims to lower prescription drug prices, extend affordable health care coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Medicaid, crack down on junk plans and surprise medical expenses, and protect health care for seniors and families for years to come.
Republicans, on the other hand, are doubling down on their efforts to raise the costs of health care, deny coverage to millions of people, and slash funding for critical programs. The GOP 2025 budget resolution includes more than $2 trillion in cuts to health care, largely through drastic cuts to Medicaid and watering down Medicare drug price negotiations.
In response, Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement:
“This budget is a reminder that President Biden is laser-focused on delivering lower cost, better health care to hard-working Americans. In the face of so many attacks on health care from Republican lawmakers, President Biden is doubling down on his efforts to lower drug prices, keep premium costs low, expand Medicaid, and put the health and well-being of families first. By releasing this bold plan to build on the administration’s health care victories, President Biden is addressing the top concern from voters of all parties, and making it clear that he will not let Republicans repeal coverage and hike costs.”
Washington, D.C. — Today, Protect Our Care is launching a $5 million+ advertising program to promote the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act’s provisions to lower drug costs, recognize health care champions, and urge them to continue the fight to lower health care costs. Polling shows that health care consistently ranks as a top economic concern for Americans.
The program will focus in the following districts: Yadira Caraveo (CO-08), Hillary Scholten (MI-03), Susan Wild (PA-07), Matt Cartwright (PA-08), Susie Lee (NV-03), Steven Horsford (NV-04), Pat Ryan (NY-18), Frank Pallone (NJ-06), and Gabe Vasquez (NM-02). Each of these members have championed the Inflation Reduction Act’s measures to cap the price of insulin at $35/month and give Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices. Congress is now considering a plan to lower costs even more by expanding those reforms to the broader health insurance market, not just seniors. The ads urge the members to continue to lead the fight for lower drug costs by passing H.R. 4895, the Lowering Drug Costs for American Families Act.
“The best way to make sure Americans know about how their members of Congress lowered health care and prescription drug costs is to reach people where they are,” said Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach. “We are telling the American people how the Inflation Reduction Act is bringing down costs for working families and giving people economic relief and a little more breathing room. We urge these members of Congress to continue to lead the fight for reforms like the Lowering Drug Costs for American Families Act so more families can afford their medications.”
The multi-channel media campaign will begin on Monday, March 11, and continue over the next few months. The seven-figure ad campaign will reach people through broadcast, cable and satellite television, OTT/streaming, YouTube, Hulu, and more. The program will also include on-the-ground events and organizing to make sure people in these communities know about these reforms.
Doreen: I’ve had so many patients over the years tell me that they can’t afford their drugs – they’re skipping days, cutting pills in half…It’s just not safe. Thankfully, Congress passed a plan to bring down drug prices.
Narrator: Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo voted to give Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices, so seniors pay less.
Doreen: This will help so many of my patients afford the medicines they need.
Narrator: Tell Congresswoman Caraveo to keep fighting for lower health care costs.
Contact Our Press Team
For all press inquiries or if you would like to be added to our press list, please contact our press office at [email protected].
