As We Head Into Labor Day Weekend, a Reminder That Trump’s Lawsuit to Overturn Our Health Care Laws Threatens American Workers.
Background: After failing to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in Congress, President Trump and his allies went to court to completely overturn the law. The decision by an ultra-conservative Texas judge ruling the ACA unconstitutional has been widely criticized by legal scholars on both sides of the aisle. Yet at every turn, Republicans have continued to support the lawsuit and the full repeal of the ACA. As the case makes its way through the appeals process, Trump appears even more committed to his years-long quest to dismantle the health care system, putting American workers in harm’s way.
Five Ways Trump’s Lawsuit Threatens Workers:
- 156 Million Americans Who Get Coverage Through An Employer Could Once Again Face Coverage Caps. If the ACA is overturned, insurance companies could once again limit how much their policies had to pay for coverage each year or over a lifetime, leaving people with potentially millions of dollars of medical bills.
- More Than 137 Million Americans—Including Those With Employer Coverage—Could Once Again Have To Pay For Preventive Care. Because of the ACA, private health plans must cover preventive services — like flu shots, cancer screenings, contraception, and mammograms – at no cost to consumers. This includes more than 137 million Americans who receive preventive care with no cost sharing, most of whom have employer coverage
- Millions Of Working Americans Would Be Thrown Off Of Medicaid. About 17 million people have gained coverage through Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. More than six in ten (63%) adults with Medicaid are working either full or part-time.
- Nursing Parents Would Lose Critical Workplace Protections. The ACA requires many employers to provide a private space—other than a bathroom—as well as reasonable break time for mothers to nurse. Without the ACA, nursing parents could lose access to these essential benefits.
- More Than 60 Million People Could Lose Access To Birth Control With No Out-Of-Pocket Fees. The ACA guarantees that private health plans cover 18 methods of contraception and make them available to patients with no out-of-pocket costs. This has saved money for women and their families: women saved $1.4 billion on birth control pills alone in 2013. Should the Texas lawsuit overturn the health care law, employers would be allowed to select plans for their employees that do not cover birth control at all. As a result, 62.4 million women who now have access to birth control without copays stand to lose.