At a virtual event for the Democratic National Convention this afternoon, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and health care advocates and storytellers discussed what’s at stake when it comes to health care in the upcoming November election. Four more years of Donald Trump would be a disaster for our health care. The Trump administration is arguing before the Supreme Court that the entire Affordable Care Act should be struck down — in the middle of a pandemic. If successful, Trump would rip away health care from more than 23 million Americans and end protections for more than 135 million people with pre-existing conditions, including millions of Americans who have had or will have COVID-19.
Protect Our Care also debuted a new ad during today’s virtual event. The new digital ad is part of Protect Our Care’s $2 million campaign holding President Trump accountable for his failed response to the coronavirus and how his years-long efforts to sabotage the ACA have only made it harder to tackle the virus.
This afternoon’s event consisted of opening remarks by Speaker Pelosi, and two panel discussions. Speaker Pelosi reflected on what’s at stake if President Trump wins a second term in office. During the first panel discussion, Attorney General Becerra and Secretary Sebelius commented on the Trump lawsuit to repeal the Affordable Care Act and why the ACA and Medicaid are more important than ever as the nation faces the coronavirus pandemic. The second panel included health care storytellers and advocates from Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. These health care advocates explained exactly what’s at stake for them personally in November and the next steps for health care advocacy ahead of the election.