Yesterday, Protect Our Care held more than a dozen press events across the country with members of Congress, attorneys general, state and local elected officials, patient advocates and people with pre-existing conditions in reaction to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling in favor of the Trump-Republican lawsuit that puts Americans’ health care coverage at risk.
Here’s some of the coverage from yesterday’s events:
Rochester Post Bulletin (MN): ‘The ACA Is 10 Points More Popular Than The President’: Advocates Fear Looming End To Obamacare Provisions. “For Slavitt, prolonging its court challenges harms the economic welfare of Americans who take security in its stability. ‘It’s still the law of the land, but the longer this case is out there the more uncertainty it creates,’ he said. ‘If you are contemplating leaving your job and being a freelancer, and you have a kid with asthma, this does affect your life, because now you’re not sure if two years from now, someone is going to say you don’t have to be offered insurance that protects your kid’s asthma. Healthcare is an underpinning which keeps people in a middle class life, with economic mobility. Any time you undermine those things, you’re undermining people’s ability to live the kind of life they want to live.’”
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA): What’s Next: Patients Insured Through Obamacare Worry After Court Ruling. “Ms. Raslevich, the mother of two high school students, has been treated for breast cancer since July 2017. Although she faces future operations, her disease is in remission and it was caught early. She’s covered by a student health plan that will end when she graduates, which means she will have to shop for coverage in the commercial market. In the meantime, she worries about making financial decisions that could impact her ability to pay for future medical care. ‘Once I read the news last night, I spent the evening crying,’ she said. ‘I couldn’t sleep.’”
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI): AG Josh Kaul Weighs In On Obamacare In Wake Of Federal Court Decision To Strike Down Key Part Of The Act. “‘Earlier this year we withdrew the state of Wisconsin from this lawsuit, which is seeking to overturn the Affordable Care Act,’ Kaul said Thursday. ‘And there are a couple of basic reasons for that. One is, the legal challenge in my view is extremely weak. And I think that will ultimately be borne out in court decisions in this case. And much more importantly, this lawsuit is going to be harmful to the best interests of the people of the state of Wisconsin if it’s successful.’”
Star Tribune (MN): Editorial: Legal Threat To ACA Ought To Be Front And Center In 2020 Election. Health care law is once again in legal jeopardy. “The ruling’s timing puts it at risk of being overshadowed by the drama in Washington, D.C. But the nation can ill afford to simply set this aside. Overturning a law that’s been in place for nearly a decade would result in serious disruption of the nation’s health care system. What would happen to the nearly 13 million low-income Americans who became newly eligible for Medicaid coverage under the ACA? How would families who rely on the ACA’s subsidies to buy insurance continue to afford it? Would there be another program to help seniors who found prescription drug cost relief through the ACA’s closure of the Medicare ‘doughnut hole’?”
Georgia Recorder (GA): Georgians React To Federal Appeals Court Ruling Against Obamacare. “State Rep. David Dreyer, an Atlanta Democrat, blamed Carr and other state attorneys general seeking to overturn the law. ‘We have rogue actors working with rogue attorney generals,’ Dreyer said at the Capitol Wednesday. ‘Our own attorney general right here is literally fighting every day to strip health care from millions of Georgians.’’
Maine Public Radio (ME): Democratic State Lawmakers Denounce Court’s Ruling Declaring Part Of ACA Unconstitutional. “Democratic state Rep. Thom Harnett says Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins paved the way for the lawsuit that challenges the ACA when she cast a deciding vote in support of the 2017 Congressional tax bill. ‘So while this is a horrible day for our nation, it is particularly troubling for Maine and its residents given the fact that it was our senator who chose to side with the wealthiest and those getting tax cuts, instead of Mainers who need health care,’ he says.”
WLOS (NC): North Carolina AG Could Join Others In Fighting Affordable Care Act Ruling. “‘The Trump administration and the 18 attorneys general that brought this case will have put an incredible hole in people’s ability to stay alive and to be healthy,’ Stein said. He said more than 4 million people in North Carolina with pre-existing conditions before the Affordable Care Act could be denied coverage by the insurance companies, 500,000 thousand who can now afford healthcare and the 1.8 million seniors who can better afford prescription drugs. ‘While we are deeply disappointed with the court of appeals decision yesterday, this fight is by no means over,’ Stein said.”
WSYX (OH): Concerns Over Affordable Care Act After Court Rules “Individual Mandate” Unconstitutional. “‘It is troubling to see Republican leaders celebrating like this is an early Christmas present. This is something that instead the American people are getting lumps of coal in their stockings,’ said Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein…’We are at the precipice of having the Affordable Care Act completely shut down, which is going to jeopardize the millions of Americans, tens of thousands of people right here in the City of Columbus who have pre-existing conditions,’ he said.”
The Center Square (CO): AG Weiser: Colorado Will ‘Continue To Stand Up Against’ Federal Gov’t Following ACA Ruling That Struck Down Individual Mandate. “Weiser said that 700,000 Coloradans who have pre-existing conditions are able to get healthcare through the ACA, along with 400,000 Coloradans through Medicaid. ‘We must continue to stand up against the federal government’s attacks on healthcare and the Justice Department’s wrongful decision to challenge – rather than defend – this important law,’ he added.”
WVII (ME): State Legislators React To Fifth Circuit Court Decision On Affordable Care Act. “‘The consequences here are absolutely stark, the real critical piece is that it is going to strip the financial support for lower and middle-class Americans who are using tax credits to help them afford individual coverage when their health insurance is not provided by their employer,’ said Senator Heather Sanborn, D-Portland.”
KCNC (CO): Appeals Court: Affordable Care Act Is Partially Unconstitutional. “A federal appeals court has ruled the Obama-era Affordable Care Act is partially unconstitutional. The decision covers the portion of the health law requiring people to have coverage, which is a key provision of the ACA.”