Washington D.C. — Today, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), health care storytellers and advocates Reggie Hubbard and Elena Hung joined Protect Our Care for a virtual event to discuss the tremendous progress that we’ve made to lower health care costs and improve care for the American people as well as the fight ahead of us to protect our health care as MAGA Republicans continue to escalate their attacks. If Donald Trump wins, health care is on the chopping block. He has already tried and failed to repeal the Affordable Care Act and now he is threatening to do it again. If Trump gets his way, 45 million people could lose coverage, and lifesaving protections would be ripped away from more than 100 million people with pre-existing conditions.
In every election since 2018, voters have gone to the polls prioritizing better health care and lower costs – this year is no different. Health care is core to this election cycle from Vice President Harris reminding voters about the accomplishments made over the last four years to Donald Trump and J.D. Vance repeatedly attacking the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and its protections for more than 100 million people with pre-existing conditions.
“If you go to kitchen tables of the American people, the list of their worries goes on – the cost of health care, the cost of prescription drugs – all things that are part of the Democratic agenda but not the Republican agenda,” said Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi. “The former president said ‘Obamacare sucks,’ but it doesn’t suck – it cures – and Democrats will do everything possible to expand the Affordable Care Act and cure many more people. Make no mistake: this is the most important election of our lifetime – and it’s a health care election. Onward to victory for a healthier America!”
“I’m here because of health care and I’m here because of my amazing daughter, Xiomara, who is the joy of my life,” said Executive Director and Co-Founder of Little Lobbyists Elena Hung. “Kids like my daughter are alive today and have a chance at childhood because the ACA banned lifetime limits on their care and insurance companies can no longer discriminate against people with pre-existing issues. Xiomara has been able to thrive because of the care that she and my family have received, because of the care that my family has been able to receive. We have to defend the ACA because the ACA saves lives.”
“On April 1, fresh off the celebration of the ACA anniversary, I became a member of the stroke survivor club,” said Save Our Health Care Campaign Director for Team Pelosi Reggie Hubbard. “In that moment, I went from activist and advocate to a patient with a pre-existing condition. The Affordable Care Act changed immediately from a policy that I passionately advocated for to a vital lifeline that not only gave me access to health care, but a path to navigate my stroke and my recovery in the aftermath. It didn’t just save my life, but it protected me from financial ruin when the unthinkable became my norm.”
“The Affordable Care Act and the lower drug provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act have finally given Americans a safe place to land so that they know they can get the health care they need,” said Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach. “Americans across the nation are seeing lower health care costs thanks to the Biden-Harris administration. We all know that when one of us gets sick, it dominates our lives, especially if you can’t afford to go to the doctor or get prescriptions. But Democrats stood up to big drug companies and won, and now seniors are saving on their prescription drug costs. People across the country finally have more breathing room, and Democrats are fighting to build on this progress so everyone has the health care they need.”
“Donald Trump and JD Vance have made it abundantly clear that they want to turn back the clock on all the progress we have made under the Biden-Harris administration,” said Protect Our Care Executive Brad Woodhouse. “From ripping away protections for pre-existing conditions to gutting the Affordable Care Act, they are intent on leaving middle-class Americans in the dust in order to fund tax breaks for billionaires and put drug companies back in charge. The MAGA agenda is an existential threat to our health care and a second Trump term would be disastrous for millions of hardworking people across the nation.”
“Time and time again, voters have gone to the polls with health care as a forefront issue,” said Protect Our Care Communications Director Anne Shoup. “This year is no different as voters will once again determine the future of American health care. It is a kitchen table issue, and the Democratic message on health care receives strong support from a majority of voters, no matter who they are or where they live.”