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Washington, DC — As President Trump heads Michigan tonight for a rally, his visit is overshadowed by a brutal week of coverage of his support for dismantling the entire health care system as members of his own party slam his reckless attempt to strip health care from millions of Americans. In response to tonight’s rally, Protect Our Care chair Leslie Dach released the following statement:

“No amount of lies from President Trump tonight will erase the fact that he’s hell bent on ripping health care away from millions of Americans, including over 720,000 Michiganders who would lose coverage if his lawsuit is successful. While Democrats were busy passing bills this week to improve the nation’s health care system, President Trump doubled down on his health care sabotage efforts, making clear he supports stripping health care from over 20 million Americans. Trump is trying to change the subject, but voters know that he’s stripping away their health care while Democrats are making good on their promise to save it.”

Background:

Fact Sheet: Health Care In Michigan

Michigan Quick Facts

• 2,322,414 Michiganders get comprehensive, affordable health coverage through Medicaid.
• 332,821 Michigan seniors are covered by Medicare in some form.
• 274,058 Michiganders are enrolled through the ACA marketplace.
• 4,740,108 Michiganders have employer-based health insurance coverage.
• 4,110,300 Michiganders have a pre-existing condition.

Impact of the Affordable Care Act In Michigan

As Republicans in Congress and the Trump administration continue to try to repeal and sabotage the Affordable Care Act, more people are learning that the law is working for them, which may be why the law is now more popular than ever.

Here is how the Affordable Care Act is working in Michigan.

618,000 Michiganders Gained Health Coverage. Because of the ACA, 618,000 Michiganders gained health coverage.

Insurers can no longer deny or drop coverage because of a pre-existing condition. Because of the ACA, insurers in the individual market can no longer drop or deny coverage, or charge you more, because of a pre-existing condition. Roughly 4,110,300 Michiganders have a pre-existing health condition.

Women no longer charged more than men. Because of the ACA, insurers can no longer charge women more than men for the same care.

Ended annual and lifetime limits. Because of the ACA, insurers can no longer put annual or lifetime limits on the care you receive.

Young adults can stay on their parents plan until age 26. Because of the ACA, roughly 73,000 young adults in Michigan have coverage because they can stay on their parents coverage until age 26.

Allowed states to expand Medicaid. Because of the ACA, states can get additional federal money to expand Medicaid. 688,300 Michiganders have coverage because of this program.

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 nearly 4,543,547 Michiganders, most of whom have employer coverage.

Comprehensive Coverage. Because of the ACA, insurers have to cover what are known as “essential health benefits,” such as maternity care, prescription drugs, and substance and mental health.

Tax credits are available to help people afford coverage. Because of the ACA, most people getting coverage on the marketplace qualify for tax credits to help pay for coverage.

Helping seniors afford prescription drugs. Because of the ACA, the Medicare prescription drug donut hole is closed. As a result, 203,864 Michigan seniors are saving $266.5 million on drugs in 2017, an average of $1,307 per beneficiary.

From statehouses to Congress to the White House, Republicans across the country have spent the last years relentlessly attacking Americans’ health care. However, now that Trump administration has taken its most public step yet in choosing to fully back a lawsuit that would repeal health care, Republicans are in full disaster mode  — outraged not at what Trump is doing, but rather at the public mess he’s causing by so clearly showing where they stand on health care.

A slew of Republican officials recognize the mess they’re in:

Tom Davis, Former Head Of National Republican Campaign Committee: “The Average Health-care Recipient Won’t Say, ‘It’s The Evil Courts That Struck It Down’…They’ll Say, ‘Oh Trump Stuck It Down.’” “‘The average health-care recipient won’t say, ‘It’s the evil courts that struck it down,’’ said Tom Davis, former head of the National Republican Campaign Committee. ‘They’ll say, ‘Oh, Trump struck it down.’ That’s the problem. So there has to be a Plan B. And with Democrats controlling the House you’ll get a Plan B- at best.’” [Daily Beast, 3/26/19]

GOP Strategist: “I Just Don’t Understand How Many Times We Have To Play This Game To Finally Learn The Lessons.” “‘I just don’t understand how many times we have to play this game to finally learn the lessons. We have seen how this turns out, and it ain’t pretty for us,’ one Republican strategist who worked on midterm elections told CBS News. ‘The strategy needs to be keeping the focus on Democrats…not on us.'” [CBS News, 3/28/19]

Senior Republican Leadership Aide: “Whoever Planted This Idea In The President’s Head Should Be Drawn And Quartered.” “‘I feel comfortable saying that I speak for almost, if not all, Republican senators when I say that this is the last thing they want to discuss,’ said one senior Republican leadership aide. ‘Whoever planted this idea in the president’s head should be drawn and quartered.'” [CBS News, 3/28/19]

Senior Republican Aide On Trump Decision: “It Is The Equivalent Of Punching Yourself In The Face Repeatedly.” ‘It’s the dumbest thing I have ever heard,’ a senior Republican aide told the Post. ‘It is the equivalent of punching yourself in the face repeatedly.'” [Talking Points Memo, 3/27/19]

Top GOP Strategist: “WTF Is Wrong With Them?” “‘They are completely tone deaf,’ texted one of the party’s top strategists. ‘How bout a few more victory laps on Mueller while you can get away with it? WTF is wrong with them?’” [Daily Beast, 3/26/19]

Former Administration Official: “And There’s Something Unusual About Him Stepping On A Good Message?” “But seasoned Trump hands were hardly surprised at the rake Trump had placed his foot on. ‘And there’s something unusual about him stepping on a good message?’ one former administration official said, laughing when asked about the timing of the announcement.” [Daily Beast, 3/26/19]

Unnamed Republican Senator: “We Would Be Crazy To Try To Go Through What We Went Through Again.” “Another Republican senator said, ‘We would be crazy to try to go through what we went through again,’ referring to the failed 2017 effort to repeal ObamaCare, which fell one vote short in the Senate.” [The Hill, 3/27/19]

Another Unnamed Republican Senator: “It Doesn’t Seem To Make Sense Politically.” “‘It doesn’t seem to make sense politically,’ said one Republican senator, who questioned why Trump would give Democrats a new avenue of attack.” [The Hill, 3/27/19]

 

As do a variety of media reports:

GOP’s Top Pollsters Told Daily Beast That Private Data Showed Health Care Cost Republicans More Than A Dozen House Seats In 2018. “One of the party’s top pollsters told The Daily Beast that private data showed that the issue of health care had likely cost Republicans more than a dozen seats in the House in 2018. ‘It was mostly all pre-existing conditions,’ the pollster said. ‘Where they got the big run. Where they went from 20 seats to winning 40 seats, was on health care.’” [Daily Beast, 3/26/19]

Washington Post: Republicans Blast Trump For Making It Harder For Them To Lie About Health Care. “Now Trump publicly recommitted his party to total repeal, which has got Republicans angry with him. But what’s amusing is that this actually is the GOP’s current stance. Sure, Republicans are rhetorically committed to keeping some form of protections for preexisting conditions (just not the ones Obamacare has put in place). But as Peter Suderman notes, there’s still no serious GOP plan for actually doing this, precisely because Republicans won’t make the hard policy choices necessary to create such a plan. So their position, functionally, is still full repeal. Republicans just want to be able to say they’re also for protecting preexisting conditions, without saying how.” [Washington Post, 3/27/19]

Axios: Trump’s Going It Alone On ACA Lawsuit. “Congressional Republicans are not happy about President Trump’s decision to up the ante in the latest legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act… Other Republican lawmakers and aides told Axios they can’t fathom why the president would want to re-litigate an issue that has been a clear loser for Republicans — especially while riding a pretty good news cycle…The bottom line: Republicans are in this boat now, like it or not.” [Axios, 3/28/19]

New York Times: Trump Sided With Mick Mulvaney In Push To Nullify Health Law. “Mr. Trump has declared that he has kept his promises, Mr. Mulvaney and Mr. Grogan argued, and as a candidate he campaigned on repealing the health law. His base of voters would love it. Besides, they argued, Democrats have been campaigning successfully on health care, and Republicans should try to claim the issue for themselves…As Republicans pointed fingers, House Democrats began moving legislation on Wednesday to ensure safeguards for people with pre-existing conditions and to hold down the costs of health insurance and prescription drugs. Ms. Eshoo, the chairwoman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, said the bills were needed to counter what she described as ‘a monstrous attack’ on the health law by the Trump administration.” [New York Times, 3/27/19]

McConnell’s Leadership Team Incensed At Trump Administration for Rekindling A Fight That Served Democrats Well In 2018. “Members of Mr. McConnell’s leadership team were incensed at Mr. Mulvaney and allies like the acting White House budget director, Russell Vought, for rekindling a fight that served Democrats so well in 2018 and could harm vulnerable incumbents in 2020, according to two senior aides with direct knowledge of the situation. The maneuver may make it much less likely that Mr. Vought, the chief of staff’s handpicked successor to head the Office of Management and Budget, will be confirmed by the Senate, the aides said.” [New York Times, 3/27/19]

Wall Street Journal: “The White House Is Increasingly At Odds With Congressional Republicans Over The Party’s Health-Care Message For The 2020 Election Campaign.” “A growing number of Republicans in Congress want to focus on transparency, competition and other free-market solutions to rising costs, all as part of their platform for 2020. But Trump administration officials are taking steps to invalidate the Affordable Care Act, including a move this week to help scuttle the law through the courts. Shaping the Trump administration strategy to dismantle the ACA are a handful of key White House policy advisers who have the ear of the president, including acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. They are also impeding some initiatives by Health and Human Services designed to lower drug pricing, the people said.” [Wall Street Journal, 3/27/19]

Wall Street Journal On Trump’s ‘Plan’: “It Was Difficult To Find Anyone On Capitol Hill Who Could Say How Such An Improvement Might Take Shape.” “‘The president is very clear that he understands the importance of health care,’ said Ms. Collins, who cast a key vote against the GOP effort to kill the ACA in 2017. ‘In order to do that, he has to have a detailed plan that is going to be an improvement over the ACA.’ As of Wednesday, it was difficult to find anyone on Capitol Hill who could say how such an improvement might take shape, a fact that Democrats were quick to note.” [Wall Street Journal, 3/27/19]

The Hill: GOP Senators Blindsided By Trump On Obamacare. “If Trump had told GOP senators of his plans, they say they would have sought to convince him not to throw their party back into a war over health care — the issue Democrats believe was instrumental to their takeover of the House in last year’s midterms…But the 2020 map is seen as more challenging, and many in the GOP can’t understand why Trump would plunge them into a fight over health care just as he was surfing a wave of good news brought by the end of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.” [The Hill, 3/27/19]

CBS News: Trump’s Pivot To Health Care Catches Republican Lawmakers Flat-footed. “Fresh off what he and his allies saw as a major victory in the conclusion of the special counsel investigation, President Trump surprised his party this week by embracing a politically perilous subject: health care…The GOP’s failed attempt to repeal Obamacare in 2017 had a galvanizing effect among Democrats. CBS News exit polling from the 2018 midterms found health care to be the top issue for voters in an election where Democrats picked up 40 House seats. And 54 percent of midterm voters disapproved of the president…The issue of health care is again center stage for Democrats as their 2020 presidential primary ramps up.” [CBS News, 3/28/19]

Washington, DC — Protect Our Care is releasing a new video today that contrasts Democrats’ efforts this week to improve the health care for millions of Americans with the Trump administration’s brazen escalation of their attempts to destroy our health care.

Voters sent a clear message in the midterms that they want lower costs, better care, and an end to Republican sabotage of their health care. Democrats responded with legislation that lowers premiums for millions, protects people with pre-existing conditions, and takes the power away from insurance companies and gives it back to people. Meanwhile President Trump administration’s reckless decision to go to court to overturn the entire Affordable Care Act will rip health care away from millions, increase costs, and gut protections for people with preexisting conditions.

Watch the video here

Background:

If the Affordable Care Act is struck down:

• GONE: Protections for 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions. The uninsured rate will increase by 65 percent.
  
• GONE: Medicaid expansion, which covers 17 million people.
  
• GONE: Nearly 12 million seniors will have to pay more for prescription drugs because the Medicare ‘donut hole’ will be reopened.
  
• GONE: 2.3 million adult children will no longer be able to stay on their parents’ insurance.
  
• GONE: Insurance companies will be able to charge women 50 percent more than men.
  
• GONE: Financial assistance that helps 9 million people purchase health care in the marketplace.
  
• GONE: Key support for rural hospitals. As Americans lose coverage, already struggling hospitals will be hit even harder as their costs increase.
  
• GONE: Ban on insurance companies having lifetime caps on coverage.
  
• GONE: Requirements that insurance companies cover prescription drugs and maternity care.

Washington, DC — Following Judge James Boasberg’s decision to strike down the Trump Administration’s Medicaid work requirements, Protect Our Care chair Leslie Dach released the following statement:

“Judge Boasberg made the right decision under the law by rejecting work requirements for Medicaid. Medicaid is a program designed to keep people healthy, and today’s decision makes that very clear. If the Trump Administration really believed in health care, they would learn their lesson and abandon their relentless war on the health care of millions of Americans.”

###

On Monday night in an extraordinarily callous move, the Trump Administration announced that it would fully support a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Affordable Care Act. This decision comes less than six months after health care led Democrats to an overwhelming victory during the midterm elections. By once again trying to strip millions of their coverage, one thing has become clear to everyone watching: health care will be a defining issue of the 2020 elections, and Republicans are once again setting themselves up for defeat.

Vox: Trump Just Guaranteed Health Care Will Be A Huge Issue In The 2020 Election. “President Trump just guaranteed health care will remain a dominant issue through the 2020 presidential campaign, opening up a massive vulnerability in his reelection bid…The Justice Department’s move is stunning, considering the price House Republicans paid in the 2018 midterms for attempting to repeal the law in Congress. Health care was the top issue for voters, beating out the economy, immigration, and guns. The voters who named health care as their top issue overwhelmingly supported Democratic candidates — helping flip control of the House from Republicans to Democrats.” [Vox, 3/26/19]

New York Times: Democrats Pivot Hard To Health Care After Trump Moves To Strike Down Affordable Care Act. “For Democrats, the Justice Department motion to invalidate the health law could not have come at a more opportune time. With the special counsel’s report failing to find a criminal conspiracy between President Trump’s campaign and Russia’s efforts to influence the election, Ms. Pelosi — who was celebrating her birthday on Tuesday — was already pressing to move her party back to the kitchen-table issues that they believe will shape the 2020 campaign. In 2018, Democrats campaigned — and won — on their pledge to keep the law’s protections for pre-existing medical conditions, and are planning to roll out their own health care agenda with much fanfare at a news conference on Tuesday afternoon.” [New York Times, 3/26/19]

CNN: Unlike Mueller, Health Care Will Likely Be A Top Issue In 2020. “The biggest 2020 news this week is not the end of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. It’s that President Donald Trump’s administration has asserted for the first time that the entire Affordable Care Act should be struck down. Health care has consistently been listed by voters as a top issue to their vote…I would expect health care’s importance to 2020 voters to go up in the coming weeks and months. When health care has been in the news previously during the Trump administration, its importance to voters has risen.” [CNN, 3/26/19]

Wall Street Journal: Democrats Signal Renewed Focus On Health Care After Mueller Findings. “House Democratic leaders are signaling a renewed emphasis on health care and other issues over opposition to President Trump even as they press for the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report about obstruction and Russian election interference… Pointing to a filing by the Justice Department late Monday that asked a court to invalidate the Affordable Care Act, Mr. Clyburn said health care is ‘the No. 1 thing on people’s minds.’” [Wall Street Journal, 3/26/19]

Politico: Dems Roar Back On Health Care After DOJ Looks To Erase ACA. “Following a surprise announcement from the Trump administration that it agrees with a ruling that would invalidate the entire Affordable Care Act, Democrats seized on the same health care messaging that helped drive them to victory in 2018.” [Politico, 3/27/19]

Washington Post: “Many Democrats Appeared Eager To Pivot Back To Health Care, An Issue That Cut Their Way During Last Year’s Midterm Elections.” “Many Democrats appeared eager to pivot back to health care, an issue that cut their way during last year’s midterm elections, after a summary of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s report suggested it was far less damaging to Trump than many had expected. Democrats planned to roll out new health-care legislation Tuesday afternoon and saw an opportunity to capi­tal­ize politically from a new legal filing by the Justice Department late Monday that said the Trump administration backs a full invalidation of the Affordable Care Act.” [Washington Post, 3/26/19]

Bloomberg: Trump Health-Care Miss Gives Democrats A Perfect Pivot. “Just as things were starting to look better for President Donald Trump, he seems intent on squandering any political advantage. Republicans lost big in the 2018 midterm elections due in large part to failed efforts to dismantle the increasingly popular Affordable Care Act. Instead of learning a lesson, the Trump administration is doubling down…The decision is a gift for Democrats, who plan to release a set of bills on Tuesday afternoon that would shore up the law. It allows them to refocus on an issue they know is a winner and unite the party behind a common cause as they figure out where to go next in health care.” [Bloomberg, 3/26/19]

Buzzfeed News: Democrats Are Thrilled With Trump Reigniting The Pre-existing Conditions Debate. “Fresh off some of his most triumphant days in office, President Donald Trump has expanded his attack on the Affordable Care Act, a move that has baffled Republicans and Democrats alike…the anti-Obamacare lawsuit and the pre-existing conditions debate have been nightmares for Republicans. Pre-existing conditions became one of the main lines of attack for Democrats during the 2018 midterms, and even Republicans concede it worked. Democrats signaled they are happy to take up that fight again in the 2020 election cycle.” [Buzzfeed News, 3/26/19]

Reason: “Heading Into Next Year’s Election, Democrats Will Almost Certainly Attempt To Capitalize On The Trump Administration’s Decision Not To Defend The Rest Of The Law.” “Arguably the single most effective argument Democrats had in last year’s midterms was that they would preserve Obamacare and its preexisting conditions rules. That is was exit polls indicate, and it is also what House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Ca.) told fellow House Republicans behind closed doors earlier this year. Heading into next year’s election, Democrats will almost certainly attempt to capitalize on the Trump administration’s decision not to defend the rest of the law, including the Medicaid expansion that provides health coverage for millions and the subsidies for middle class people buying private insurance on the ACA’s exchanges. (Even before last night’s filing, Democrats signaled they would make Obamacare a major campaign theme.)” [Reason, 3/26/19]

NPR: “Upending The Law Could Prove Politically Dangerous For The Trump Administration And Republicans Who Are Backing The Law’s Repeal.” “The ACA’s popularity played a role in Democrats’ success in the 2018 elections, when they took back the House. Upending the law could prove politically dangerous for the Trump administration and Republicans who are backing the law’s repeal.Democrats were quick to criticize the move.” [NPR, 3/26/19]

Philip Bump, Washington Post Columnist: “The Trump Administration’s Renewed Focus On Eliminating Obamacare Is A Baffling Political Move.” “On Election Day, the importance of health care was revealed in exit polling. Four in 10 voters said that health care was the most important issue, and Democrats won those voters by a 3-to-1 margin. In other words, a full 30 percent of the electorate said that they considered health care to be the most important issue and then voted for a Democrat in their local House race…That lawsuit against the ACA was a key part of Democratic rhetoric…It’s hard to overstate what a strange political decision this is for Trump.” [Washington Post, 3/26/19]

Andy Slavitt For USA Today: Trump Wants To Drop A Neutron Bomb On The Affordable Care Act. Over To You, 2020 Voters. “Only 24 hours after what he sees as a vindication of his presidency by Attorney General William Barr, President Donald Trump took the most radical, aggressive and harmful move of his presidency when he filed papers to ask the courts to support the complete elimination of the Affordable Care Act. And in doing so, Trump just framed the stakes of the 2020 election.” [USA Today, 3/27/19]

 

Elected officials, experts, and political commentators agree — health care will be the issue of 2020:

Joe Scarborough: “Health Care Will Be The Issue That Determines Who Wins Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, And Florida — And The White House.” [Morning Joe, 3/27/19]

Sahil Kapur, Bloomberg Political Reporter: “This Is A Helluva Gift From The Trump Administration To Democrats.” “This is a helluva gift from the Trump administration to Democrats. Health care was the #1 issue for 2018 voters and Dems won those voters 75-23% running on ACA and pre-existing condition rules, which DOJ now says should be voided.” [Sahil Kapur Twitter, 3/25/19]

Dan Sena, Former Executive Director Of DCCC: “Mr. President, With Respect. You Just Lost A Historic Number Of Seats On This.” “Mr. President, with respect. You just lost a historic number of seats on this. You controlled all three chambers and missed the mark then. Age taxes and weakening coverage for prex conditions isn’t a winning strategy for you. Trust me on this one.” [Sena Twitter, 3/27/19]

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT): “They Are Literally Teeing This Up As An Issue For Democrats For The Next Year And A Half.” “‘It’s hard to figure out,’ said Sen. Chris Murphy. ‘They literally are teeing this up as an issue for Democrats for the next year and a half. They’re not even making a laughable attempt to save the most popular parts of the Affordable Care Act.’” [Buzzfeed News, 3/26/19]

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY): This Legal Position Is “A Two-Year Anchor Around The Neck Of Every Republican.” [Buzzfeed News, 3/26/19]

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA): It’s “Not Only Immoral, It’s A Really Bad Political Decision For Them.” “‘It’s really outrageous. I don’t understand if Republicans weren’t present for the last election, but if there was an issue that was deeply critical, it was health care,’ Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said after the meeting. It’s ‘not only immoral, it’s a really bad political decision for them,’ she added.” [Politico, 3/26/19]

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL): Trump Has “Revived The Most Important Issue In The 2018 Election.” “‘It turns the page back to our issue,’ said Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). The Trump administration has ‘revived the most important issue in the 2018 election and they couldn’t have done it more convincingly than to say that Trump and his White House are out to eliminate the Affordable Care Act.’” [Politico, 3/26/19]

Washington, DC – Following Chairman Pallone and House Democrats unveiling of sweeping health care legislation today, including Congressman Andy Kim’s State Allowance for a Variety of Exchanges (SAVE) Act, which would provide states with $200 million in federal funds to establish state-based Marketplaces, Protect Our Care chair Leslie Dach released the following statement:

“Protect Our Care applauds Congressman Kim and House Democrats for unveiling aggressive health care legislation today that lower costs, improves care and ends Republican sabotage. The bill lowers premiums and deductibles for millions, protects people with preexisting conditions and takes power away from insurance companies and gives it back to patients.

“While Democrats move forward today, President Trump is taking his most aggressive step yet in his relentless war on America’s health care, demanding that the entire ACA  be thrown out, ripping apart the nation’s health care system. The contrast could not be clearer: Democrats are more focused than ever on delivering their promise of lower costs and better care, while Trump and his allies in Congress continue to do everything in their power to take health care away from millions of Americans.”

Background

H.R.1385, the “State Allowance For A Variety Of Exchanges (SAVE) Act” would provide states with $200 million in federal funds to establish state-based Marketplaces. Under current law, federal funds are no longer available for states to set up state-based Marketplaces.

Lower Health Care Costs. The House bill would reduce health care premiums and deductibles, expand eligibility for financial assistance that helps consumers afford coverage, and expand access to affordable health care by guaranteeing affordable care options.

• Coverage for less than ten percent of your income. Under the bill, nearly all Americans would be guaranteed an option to purchase health care for less than 10 percent of their income.

• Financial assistance for more people. Premium tax credits would be made available to more middle class Americans, including those with incomes above 400 percent of the federal poverty line or roughly $100,400 for a family of four.

• Lowering premiums. By creating a national reinsurance program the House legislation would help further reduce premiums.

Better Care For More People. The bill would restrict insurance companies’ ability to sell plans that gut circumvent important consumer protections. By helping to lower costs, the House bill would also expand access to comprehensive, affordable care for even more people.

• Lowering premiums, deductibles, or both for more than 13 million people currently insured and providing lower cost options for 12 million uninsured people. In all, the bill’s extended tax credits, reinsurance programs and premium assistance would cut premiums for all ACA-compliant plans sold on the individual market, reducing premiums or deductibles for 13 million with individual market coverage and creating lower cost options for 12 million uninsured people eligible for coverage through the marketplace.

• Protecting people with pre-existing conditions. The legislation would stop the Trump administration’s plans to allow insurance companies to sell junk plans that deny people with pre-existing conditions coverage or charge them more.

• Guaranteeing that insurance companies cover basic health services. The bill would also prevent the Trump administration from weakening requirements that all insurance cover essential health benefits, such as prescription drug coverage, hospital care, and maternity coverage.

• Taking power away from insurance companies and gives it back to patients. While the Trump administration gives insurance companies the power to flood the market with junk plans and rewards them with massive tax breaks, this bill reinstates important protections for American consumers, giving power back to patients.

End Sabotage. Since taking office, the Trump administration has worked relentlessly to sabotage Americans’ health care, expanding access to junk plans that allow insurance companies to deny coverage to patients with pre-existing conditions and slashing funding to help people sign up for comprehensive, affordable care.

• Restoring funding for education. The House bill would restore marketing funding for heatlh care sold through the marketplace, which the Trump administration has cut by 90 percent since taking office.

• Restoring funding for groups that help people sign up for coverage. Funding for health navigator groups that help people sign up for comprehensive care, which has been cut by 77 percent since the President Trump took office, would also be restored.

Washington, DC — Following Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats unveiling of sweeping health care legislation today, Protect Our Care chair Leslie Dach released the following statement:

“Protect Our Care applauds Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats for unveiling aggressive health care legislation today that lower costs, improves care and ends Republican sabotage. The bill lowers premiums and deductibles for millions, protects people with preexisting conditions and takes power away from insurance companies and gives it back to patients. While Democrats move forward today, President Trump is taking his most aggressive step yet in his relentless war on America’s health care, demanding that the entire ACA be thrown out, ripping apart the nation’s health care system.

“The contrast could not be clearer: Democrats are more focused than ever on delivering their promise of lower costs and better care, while Trump and his allies in Congress continue to do everything in their power to take health care away from millions of Americans.”

Background:

Lower Health Care Costs. The House bill would reduce health care premiums and deductibles, expand eligibility for financial assistance that helps consumers afford coverage, and expand access to affordable health care by guaranteeing affordable care options.

• Coverage for less than ten percent of your income. Under the bill, nearly all Americans would be guaranteed an option to purchase health care for less than 10 percent of their income.
• Financial assistance for more people. Premium tax credits would be made available to more middle class Americans, including those with incomes above 400 percent of the federal poverty line or roughly $100,400 for a family of four.
• Lowering premiums. By creating a national reinsurance program the House legislation would help further reduce premiums.

Better Care For More People. The bill would restrict insurance companies’ ability to sell plans that gut circumvent important consumer protections. By helping to lower costs, the House bill would also expand access to comprehensive, affordable care for even more people.

• Lowering premiums, deductibles, or both for more than 13 million people currently insured and providing lower cost options for 12 million uninsured people. In all, the bill’s extended tax credits, reinsurance programs and premium assistance would cut premiums for all ACA-compliant plans sold on the individual market, reducing premiums or deductibles for 13 million with individual market coverage and creating lower cost options for 12 million uninsured people eligible for coverage through the marketplace.
• Protecting people with pre-existing conditions. The legislation would stop the Trump administration’s plans to allow insurance companies to sell junk plans that deny people with pre-existing conditions coverage or charge them more.
• Guaranteeing that insurance companies cover basic health services. The bill would also prevent the Trump administration from weakening requirements that all insurance cover essential health benefits, such as prescription drug coverage, hospital care, and maternity coverage.
• Taking power away from insurance companies and gives it back to patients. While the Trump administration gives insurance companies the power to flood the market with junk plans and rewards them with massive tax breaks, this bill reinstates important protections for American consumers, giving power back to patients.

End Sabotage. Since taking office, the Trump administration has worked relentlessly to sabotage Americans’ health care, expanding access to junk plans that allow insurance companies to deny coverage to patients with pre-existing conditions and slashing funding to help people sign up for comprehensive, affordable care. 

• Restoring funding for education. The House bill would restore marketing funding for heatlh care sold through the marketplace, which the Trump administration has cut by 90 percent since taking office.
• Restoring funding for groups that help people sign up for coverage. Funding for health navigator groups that help people sign up for comprehensive care, which has been cut by 77 percent since the President Trump took office, would also be restored.

After last night’s announcement that the Trump Justice Department would throw its full weight behind overthrowing the Affordable Care Act in the Texas lawsuit, media outlets and legal scholars explained the dire consequences a full repeal would have on tens of millions of Americans. Not only would costs go up for millions of Americans, but people would get worse care because insurance companies would be able to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions and not cover key benefits like maternity care or prescription drugs.

Media Reports:

The New York Times: “The New Position Is Also Certain To Reignite A Political Furor Over The Affordable Care Act, Ensuring That it Will Figure Even More Prominently In The 2020 Elections.” “The Trump administration broadened its attack on the Affordable Care Act on Monday, telling a federal appeals court that it now believed the entire law should be invalidated. The administration had previously said that the law’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions should be struck down, but that the rest of the law, including the expansion of Medicaid, should survive. If the appeals court accepts the Trump administration’s new arguments, millions of people could lose health insurance, including those who gained coverage through the expansion of Medicaid and those who have private coverage subsidized by the federal government.” [The New York Times, 3/25/19]

Washington Examiner: Trump Hands Democrats Their 2020 Attack Strategy. “Democrats credit campaigning on healthcare as key to propeling them to victory in the House during the midterm elections, and the latest action by President Trump’s Department of Justice asking a federal appeals court to invalidate all of Obamacare gives them ammunition heading into 2020…Democrats have tailored their messaging to say they are united on achieving the goal of universal healthcare, and cast Republicans as determined to take coverage away from people.” [Washington Examiner, 3/26/19]

Bloomberg: Trump Asks Courts To Erase Obamacare In Risky 2020 Election Move. “The Trump administration is hardening its legal position toward Obamacare, arguing now the entire law is unconstitutional in a shift that promises to bring the issue to the forefront of the 2020 election campaign. The position is a change for the Justice Department after it argued last year that large parts of the 2010 law — but not all of it — should be struck in the case Texas v. U.S., which is pending before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.” [Bloomberg, 3/26/19]

Intelligencer: “It’s A Bit Odd That The DOJ Would Act To Repeal A Popular Law On An Issue That Democrats Ran And Won On In The Midterms.” “Coming off the heels of a clear political victory, it’s a bit odd that the DOJ would act to repeal a popular law on an issue that Democrats ran and won on in the midterms. Democrats have a clear advantage on health care, and the party’s 2020 frontrunners only intend to expand on coverage options. To remind voters that the GOP still wants to strip away provisions that expand care to millions of Americans seems like an unforced error on the issue voters care about most.” [Intelligencer, 3/26/19]

Vox: “The Trump Administration’s Clear, Consistent And Unequivocal Position Is That Millions Of People Should Lose Their Health Insurance And That People Should Not Be Protected From Discrimination Based On Their Medical History.” “The Justice Department said in a brief filed on Monday that the administration supports a recent district court decision that invalidated all of Obamacare. So it is now the official position of President Trump’s administration that all of the ACA — the private insurance markets that cover 15 million Americans, the Medicaid expansion that covers another 15 million, and the protections for people with preexisting conditions and other regulations — should be nullified. When combined with Trump’s endorsement of the various Republican legislative plans to repeal and replace Obamacare and other regulatory actions pursued by his subordinates, the Trump administration’s clear, consistent and unequivocal position is that millions of people should lose their health insurance and that people should not be protected from discrimination based on their medical history.” [Vox, 3/25/19]

CNN: “This Shift In The Justice Department’s Stance Doubles Down On Stripping Away All The Protections That Were A Hallmark Of The Landmark Health Reform Law.” “Trump and the administration repeatedly promised — particularly leading up to the midterm election — to protect people with less-than-perfect medical histories. But this shift in the Justice Department’s stance doubles down on stripping away all the protections that were a hallmark of the landmark health reform law. The administration’s move didn’t only startle supporters of the law. One former official who worked under Sessions told CNN Monday night that he, too, was surprised by the new position.” [CNN, 3/26/19]

Inside Health Policy: Urban Institute: Uninsured Rate Would Spike 65 Percent If ACA Undone. “Eliminating the Affordable Care Act would cause the uninsured rate to increase by at least 65 percent and cause the amount of uncompensated care to grow by at least 82 percent, according to a new study by the Urban Institute. Annual spending by the federal government on health care for the nonelderly would fall by $134.7 billion under a full repeal of the ACA, while aggregate state spending on health care would fall by $9.6 billion, according to the study.” [Inside Health Policy, 3/26/19]

Axios: “If DOJ Ultimately Gets Its Way Here, The Ripple Effects Would Be Cataclysmic.” “The Justice Department now wants the courts to strike down the entire Affordable Care Act — not just its protections for people with pre-existing conditions. This is a stunning escalation, raising both the real-world and political stakes in a lawsuit where both the real-world and political stakes were already very high… If DOJ ultimately gets its way here, the ripple effects would be cataclysmic. The ACA’s insurance exchanges would go away. So would its Medicaid expansion. Millions would lose their coverage. The FDA would lose the authority to approve an entire class of drugs.” [Axios, 3/26/19]

Politico: “The Consequences Could Be Substantial For Patients, Health Care Organizations And Other Groups That Have Adapted To The Nine-Year-Old Law.” “Regardless of the outcome, legal experts anticipate that the 5th Circuit’s ruling will be appealed to the Supreme Court. If the courts ultimately strike down Obamacare — over the objections of a group of Democrat-led states, which have spent more than a year defending the health law in court — the consequences could be substantial for patients, health care organizations and other groups that have adapted to the nine-year-old law. More than 20 million Americans are covered through the ACA’s Medicaid expansion and its insurance exchanges. The sweeping law — the object of repeated legal challenges since its 2010 passage — has transformed the nation’s health system, creating new patient protections and reshaping payments for doctors and hospitals.” [Politico, 3/25/19]

 

Experts:

Larry Levitt, Senior Vice President Of Kaiser Family Foundation: “This Sets Up A Clear Contrast For The 2020 General Election On Health Care.” “The Trump administration is now arguing in court that the whole ACA should be thrown out, including pre-existing condition protections. The president’s budget also proposes repeal and replace of the ACA. This sets up a clear contrast for the 2020 general election on health care.” [Larry Levitt Twitter, 3/25/19]

Jonathan Adler, Conservative Law Scholar: “The Justice Department’s Change In Position Is Astounding.” “According to a letter filed today with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, DOJ now believes that the district court’s judgment should be upheld. In other words, the Department of Justice has decided not to defend any portion of the ACA. The Justice Department’s change in position is astounding. It was remarkable enough that DOJ failed to question the states’ standing to challenge an unenforced and unenforceable mandate, and even more remarkable that the Department failed to defend a readily defensible federal law. It is more remarkable still that the DOJ is abandoning its position — and the position on severability advanced by the Obama Administration — in favor of a highly strained and implausible approach to severability with little grounding or precedent.” [Reason, 3/25/19]

Philip Klein, Prominent Critic Of ACA: “Whatever One’s Policy Views, The Legal Argument Is A Mess From Start To Finish.” “As somebody who has been a critic of Obamacare since it’s early days as a campaign proposal, I’d obviously love for the law to be entirely repealed. But what the Trump administration Department of Justice has just done is to latch onto a bizarre legal theory in an effort to get rid of the law without having to go through Congress…Whatever one’s policy views, the legal argument is a mess from start to finish…As much as I’d like to see Obamacare disappear so that it can be replaced with a free market health care system, in the long-run, it’s more important to me as a conservative that courts are not used as a legislative body for people to obtain the policy outcomes that they want but can’t pass through Congress.” [Washington Examiner, 3/26/19]

Timothy Jost, Professor Of Law At Washington And Lee University School Of Law: Filing Reflects “A Strictly Political Decision, Not A Legal Decision.” “Timothy S. Jost, an emeritus professor at the Washington and Lee University School of Law, called the Justice Department’s new position ‘crazy’ and ‘legally untenable.’ ‘I can’t believe that even the 5th Circuit would take that position,’ he said in an interview, suggesting that arguably the nation’s most conservative appeals court would still be reluctant to accept the reasoning backed by the administration. ‘It would be like invalidating the Interstate Highway System, causing chaos on an unimaginable scale. It’s conceivable that the entire Medicare payment system would collapse.’ The filing reflected ‘a strictly political decision, not a legal decision,’ Jost said. ‘Trump has wanted to get rid of the ACA, and I guess he sees an opportunity here. He thinks maybe he can get the 5th Circuit to go along and, ultimately, maybe the Supreme Court.'” [Washington Post, 3/26/19]

Abbe Gluck, Professor Of Law At Yale: DOJ Decision Is “Total Bombshell, Which Could Have Dire Consequences For Millions Of People.” “‘The Justice Department is no longer asking for partial invalidation of the Affordable Care Act, but says the whole law should be struck down,’ Abbe R. Gluck, a law professor at Yale who has closely followed the litigation, said on Monday. ‘Not just some of the insurance provisions, but all of it, including the Medicaid expansion and hundreds of other reforms. That’s a total bombshell, which could have dire consequences for millions of people.’” [The New York Times, 3/25/19]

Nicholas Bagley, Professor Of Law At University Of Michigan On DOJ’s New Position: “The Sheer Irresponsibility…It’s Breathtaking.” “‘The sheer irresponsibility of the notion that you would rip the Affordable Care Act out of the American health-care system without having any prospect for a transition plan, or much less a replacement, is extraordinary,’ Bagley said. ‘It’s breathtaking.’” [Washington Post, 3/26/19]