Americans have seen tremendous gains in health care over the last decade. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) expanded access to affordable health coverage to more than thirty million people and provided essential protections for people with pre-existing conditions. The American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act built on the success of the ACA and now more people than ever have access to the care and medications that they need to live healthy lives. Unfortunately, this progress at expanding coverage, reducing costs, and advancing health equity is being aggressively challenged in the courts.
Ideologically-driven, dark money-funded lawsuits are being filed against the underlying statutes, administrative rulings, and the ambitious executive actions necessary for implementing these laws. If these well-funded, relentless and legally specious lawsuits are going to be defeated, the health care community must strengthen its own legal response through amici campaigns, and mount aggressive and strategic advocacy and media responses. The lawsuits must be subjected to intensive and continuous scrutiny from the media, elected officials, advocacy groups, the medical community, constitutional experts, and ordinary Americans across the country. The judges hearing these cases and the American people must be made aware of the consequences of these lawsuits on the health of millions of Americans.
Protect Our Care, working closely with other experts and allies, and building on its leadership track record of work on previous District, Appellate, and Supreme Court threats to health care will defend health care in the courts with the following strategies.
Public Education and Mobilization
- Raise awareness of the impact of pending litigation on peoples’ lives
- Amplify the voices of health care storytellers: ordinary Americans who will tell compelling personal stories of the potential impact of the case on their lives and the lives of their families
- Produce and broadly disseminate digital toolkits and other advocacy materials for our partners and the public
- Actively engage with elected officials to alert them about the cases and encourage them to make public statements about their potential impact on their constituents to generate media coverage
Earned Media
- Bring media attention to dangerous cases early in the process, and create a persuasive narrative
- Host regular calls with local, state and national media, Members of Congress, and state officials about the lawsuits
- Frequently publish reports and fact sheets that summarize the complicated legal issues in understandable and accessible formats for the press and the public
External Relations Support Throughout the Legal Process
- Work closely with government and outside lawyers to shape media coverage of individual cases
- In coordination with outside legal counsel, help source amici authors
Coalition Building
- Bring the voices of other health care and community groups, patient groups, providers and businesses into the dialogue