Washington, DC – Following Governor Tony Evers’ decision Thursday to withdraw Wisconsin from the Texas, et. al. vs. United States, et. al. lawsuit championed by Republican leaders in Wisconsin that would overturn the Affordable Care Act and its protections for people with pre-existing conditions, Protect Our Care chair Leslie Dach released the following statement:
“Governor Evers and Attorney General Kaul’s decision to pull Wisconsin out of the Texas lawsuit is a defeat for the Trump administration and Republican legislative leaders in Wisconsin’s relentless war on our health care. It is a victory for the nearly two and a half million Wisconsinites with pre-existing conditions. The governor’s decision makes clear that elections matter, and that Democrats across the country are making good on their promise to save our health care system from the ongoing acts of sabotage from Republicans and their disastrous lawsuit that would end protections for people with pre-existing conditions.”
BACKGROUND
In a December ruling, U.S. Northern District Court Judge Reed O’Connor used the courts to do what Republicans in Congress failed to do legislatively: strike down the Affordable Care Act. If O’Connor’s ruling is not overturned, it will rip coverage from millions of Americans, raise costs, end protections for people with pre-existing conditions, put insurance companies back in charge, and force seniors to pay more for prescription drugs. The result will be to — as the Trump Administration itself admitted in Court — unleash “chaos” in our entire health care system.
The ruling could have a devastating impact on Wisconsinites:
- 2,435,700 Wisconsinites have a pre-existing condition, and would lose protections if this ruling is upheld.
- 308,100 Wisconsin children have a pre-existing condition. One in four children, including 308,100 in Wisconsin, have a pre-existing condition.
- 2 million Wisconsin women have a pre-existing condition. More than half of women and girls have a pre-existing condition, including 1,187,000 in Wisconsin.
- 616,900 people aged 55-64 in Wisconsin have a pre-existing condition. 84 percent of older adults, 30.5 million Americans between age 55 and 64, have a pre-existing condition. This includes 616,900 in Wisconsin.
If not overturned, this ruling means:
- Marketplace tax credits and coverage for 10 million people:
- Medicaid expansion currently covering 15 million people:
- Protections for more than 130 million people with pre-existing conditions when they buy coverage on their own, including more than 2.4 million Wisconsinites:
- Allowing kids to stay on their parents’ insurance until age 26:
- Free annual wellness exams:
- Ban on annual and lifetime limits:
- Ban on insurance discrimination against women:
- Contraception with no out-of-pocket costs:
- Limit on out-of-pocket costs:
- Requirement that insurance companies cover essential benefits like prescription drugs, maternity care, and hospitalization:
- Improvements to Medicare, including reduced costs for prescription drugs:
- Closed Medicare prescription drug donut hole:
- Rules to hold insurance companies accountable:
- Small business tax credits:
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