June 2019

Yesterday, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals brought the Trump lawsuit to destroy America’s health care into sharper focus when they asked for further briefing on the standing of the House of Representatives and intervenor states to appeal the case. This development comes just two weeks before the Fifth Circuit is slated to hear oral arguments in Donald Trump’s lawsuit that would destroy the health care of millions of Americans, end protections for 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions and plunge our health care system into chaos. The threat of this lawsuit is real, and the American people – who understand their health care is at stake – will undoubtedly hold Republicans responsible for supporting Trump in his quest to destroy America’s health care. 

Given yesterday’s developments here’s a reminder of what would happen if Trump’s lawsuit is successful:

Fact Sheet: Trump Lawsuit To Overturn ACA

State-By-State Impact Of Trump Lawsuit 

If the Affordable Care Act is struck down:

GONE: Protections for 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions. The uninsured rate will increase by 65 percent.

GONE: Medicaid expansion, which covers 17 million people.

GONE: Nearly 12 million seniors will have to pay more for prescription drugs because the Medicare ‘donut hole’ will be reopened.

GONE: 2.3 million adult children will no longer be able to stay on their parents’ insurance.

GONE: Insurance companies will be able to charge women 50 percent more than men.

GONE: Financial assistance that helps 9 million people purchase health care in the marketplace.

GONE: Key support for rural hospitals. As Americans lose coverage, already struggling hospitals will be hit even harder as their costs increase.

GONE: Ban on insurance companies having lifetime caps on coverage.

GONE: Requirements that insurance companies cover prescription drugs and maternity care.

Thanks To The Republican Lawsuit, Nearly 20 Million People Could Lose Their Coverage

According to the Urban Institute, 19.9 million people could lose coverage by repealing the Affordable Care Act, meaning the number of uninsured Americans would increase from 30.4 million to 50.3 million, representing a leading to a 65 percent increase in the uninsured rate. As the uninsured rate swells, so will the amount of uncompensated care, which Urban predicts will grow by at least 82 percent.

Republicans Want To Put Insurance Companies Back In Charge, Ending Protections For The 130 Million People With A Pre-Existing Condition

According to a recent analysis by the Center for American Progress, roughly half of nonelderly Americans, or as many as 130 million people, have a pre-existing condition. This includes:

44 million people who have high blood pressure

45 million people who have behavioral health disorders

44 million people who have high cholesterol

34 million people who have asthma and chronic lung disease

34 million people who have osteoarthritis and other joint disorders

Republicans Want To Give Insurance Companies The Power To Charge You More, While Their Profits Soar

• 138 Million Americans  Could Once Again Have To Pay For Preventive Care. Because of the ACA, health plans must cover preventive services — like flu shots, cancer screenings, contraception, and mammograms – at no cost to consumers. This includes nearly 138 million Americans, most of whom have employer coverage.
• Premium Surcharges Can Once Again Be In The Six Figures. Thanks to the Republican lawsuit, insurance companies can charge people more because of a pre-existing condition. The House-passed repeal bill had a similar provision, and an analysis by the Center for American Progress found that insurers could charge up to $4,270 more for asthma, $17,060 more for pregnancy, $26,180 more for rheumatoid arthritis and $140,510 more for metastatic cancer.
• Women Can Be Charged More Than Men For The Same Coverage. Prior to the ACA, women, for example, were often charged premiums on the nongroup market of up to 50 percent higher than they charged men for the same coverage.
• People Over The Age of 50 Can Face A $4,000 “Age Tax.” Thanks to the Republican lawsuit, insurance companies can charge people over 50 more than younger people. The Affordable Care Act limited the amount older people could be charged to three times more than younger people. If insurers were to charge five times more, as was proposed in the Republican repeal bills, that would add an average “age tax” of $4,124 for a 60-year-old in the individual market, according to the AARP.
• Nine Million People In The Marketplaces Will Pay More For Coverage. Thanks to the Republican lawsuit, consumers no longer have access to tax credits that help them pay their marketplace premiums, meaning roughly nine million people who receive these tax credits to pay for coverage will have to pay more.
• Seniors Will Have To Pay More For Prescription Drugs. Thanks to the Republican lawsuit, seniors will have to pay more for prescription drugs because the Medicare “donut” hole got reopened. From 2010 to 2016, “More than 11.8 million Medicare beneficiaries have received discounts over $26.8 billion on prescription drugs – an average of $2,272 per beneficiary,” according to a January 2017 Centers on Medicare and Medicaid Services report.
• Patients And States Would Lose Important Federal Health Care Funding — An Estimated Reduction Of $135 Billion In The First Year. The Urban Institute estimated that with a full repeal of the ACA, “Federal spending on Medicaid/CHIP acute care for the nonelderly and Marketplace premium tax credits in 2019 would fall by $134.7 billion, or 34.6 percent. The decline in federal Medicaid/CHIP spending alone would total $82.2 billion; the elimination of tax credits and reinsurance would reduce federal spending by $52.5 billion.”

Washington, DC–Tonight, Democratic presidential candidates met in Miami to discuss health care and other national issues at the first debate of the 2020 election. In response, Protect Our Care executive director Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement:

“The American people saw a spirited discussion tonight in the first Democratic presidential debate on the issue of health care. While there were differences among the candidates and their plans, every person on that stage agreed that health care is a right, that costs should be reduced and coverage expanded. On the other hand, President Trump’s lawsuit to terminate the health care law and rip coverage away from millions took another step forward in court today. That’s the difference in this election.” 

Washington, DC — Today, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals asked for further briefing on the standing of the House of Representatives and intervenor states to appeal the Texas lawsuit. This development comes just two weeks before the Fifth Circuit is slated to hear oral arguments in Donald Trump’s lawsuit that would destroy the health care of millions of Americans, end protections for 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions and plunge our health care system into chaos. In response, Protect Our Care chair Leslie Dach issued the following statement:

“Make no mistake, the threat posed by President Trump’s lawsuit to destroy health care is real, ongoing and puts American lives at risk. Trump’s lawsuit was designed solely to terminate protections millions of Americans rely on every day. It is a politically-motivated attack on health care that will raise costs, strip coverage, and hurt millions of people with pre-existing conditions. Democrats in Congress and in states across the country have made clear they won’t stand for these attacks on our health care and are fighting on behalf of the American people. Every day this lawsuit inches closer to a decision, Republicans who refuse to denounce it bear more and more responsibility for Trump’s reckless attempt destroy health care.”    

If the Affordable Care Act is struck down:

• GONE: Protections for 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions. The uninsured rate will increase by 65 percent. 
• GONE: Medicaid expansion, which covers 17 million people. 
• GONE: Nearly 12 million seniors will have to pay more for prescription drugs because the Medicare ‘donut hole’ will be reopened.
• GONE: 2.3 million adult children will no longer be able to stay on their parents’ insurance. 
• GONE: Insurance companies will be able to charge women 50 percent more than men.
• GONE: Financial assistance that helps 9 million people purchase health care in the marketplace.
• GONE: Key support for rural hospitals. As Americans lose coverage, already struggling hospitals will be hit even harder as their costs increase.
• GONE: Ban on insurance companies having lifetime caps on coverage.
• GONE: Requirements that insurance companies cover prescription drugs and maternity care.

Washington, DC — Today, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) marked up several bills, including the Lower Health Care Costs Act (S. 1895). Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care, released the following statement in response: 

“The biggest surprise the American people face in health care is the loss of protections for those with pre-existing conditions and the loss of coverage for millions through ongoing Republican sabotage of the health care law and the Texas lawsuit. Republicans refuse to stop the Texas lawsuit, end junk plans, or stop their decade-long campaign to repeal American health care. As long as they continue their support for President Trump’s repeal and sabotage agenda to rip our health care system apart, Republicans will continue to earn the criticism of Americans across the political spectrum.”

Senators, Protect Our Care Denounce Trump Texas Lawsuit, Discuss New Poll and Kick Off National Mobilization Efforts Ahead of Oral Arguments in the Case On July 9

Call audio available HERE

Washington, DC – Today, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Protect Our Care held a press call where they denounced President Trump’s disastrous Texas lawsuit to destroy America’s health care and kicked off mobilization efforts leading up to oral arguments in the case on July 9. Also on the call, Jim Williams with Public Policy Polling discussed a new poll from PPP in key battleground states that found Trump would lose in 2020 – even to the worst villains imaginable – if the presidential race was defined by Trump’s health care sabotage agenda. Key findings: 

• 72% say they would not consider voting for a presidential candidate who supports plans that eliminate health care protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
• 73% of voters say they would not consider voting for a candidate who proposes a budget that includes $845 billion in cuts to Medicare.
• A majority (52%) of voters trust also trust Democrats more than President Trump on healthcare, with only 43% of voters trusting President Trump more. 
• Among independents, 59% trust Democrats more, and only 36% of independents trust President Trump. 
• Voters would prefer a zombie who supports health care over Trump who will repeal it by 4 points (46-42) and prefer Dracula who supports health care over Trump who will repeal it by 4 points (46-42). 

“Voters in Michigan made their voices heard last November and elected many new leaders who are committed to protecting our health care and lowering the cost of prescription drugs,” said Senator Stabenow. “Yet the Trump Administration is doing everything in its power to take away people’s health care, including supporting the ongoing lawsuit to overturn the health care law. It’s clear that President Trump and Republicans who back him don’t stand with Michigan families.”

“This administration has been engaged in a disinformation campaign against the ACA since day one, working to sabotage Americans’ access to health care, disrupt insurance markets, and sow as much confusion and pain as possible,” said Senator Murphy. “Since President Trump took office, over one million Americans have lost their insurance. But it doesn’t stop there. They failed to destroy the ACA through Congress so now they’re trying through the courts, and if the Republican lawsuit prevails, all of the protections for preexisting conditions that Americans depend on will disappear. This fight is far from over, and now is the time to sound the alarm.” 

“It speaks volumes about the state of the Republican party that the American people would prefer a blood-sucking vampire over Trump when it comes to protecting their health care, but that’s exactly what this new poll finds.” said Protect Our Care executive director Brad Woodhouse. “Voters are paying attention while Trump wages his war on America’s health care, and his Texas lawsuit is the clearest indication of his intention to strip coverage from millions of Americans and decimate protections for pre-existing conditions.” 

Call audio available HERE

Washington, DC — Today, the Trump administration announced a new executive order on health care, which, according to experts is nothing more than a vague and dubious attempt to distract from their ongoing sabotage of America’s health care. In response to this announcement, Protect Our Care chair Leslie Dach released the following statement:

“Americans are unlikely to see any benefit from President Trump’s executive order, and it’s nothing more than an attempt to distract from the excruciating damage his administration is inflicting on our health care system. Secretary Azar is pretending their announcement today is a game changer, but in reality the real game changer is that two weeks from now President Trump is going to court to rip health care from millions of people. What the president should be doing today is ending his lawsuit to destroy America’s health care.”

In newly revealed Trump administration vetting documents for CMS Administrator Seema Verma obtained by Axios, Trump’s team admitted even before he took office what we all know about their health care repeal plan:

“The repeal of the Affordable Care Act will leave many Americans without insurance and unsure about future insurance prospects”

Nearly every Republican in Congress voted for health care repeal.

Now, having failed to destroy health care in Congress, the Trump administration is going to court on July 9, 2019 to try and have the law repealed.

When will they learn the lesson of the 2018 elections?

On Vote to Repudiate Trump’s Texas Lawsuit, All But Four Republicans Vote In Favor of Legal Action that Would Overturn the Entire Law

Washington, DC — House Republicans, who were run out of the majority in 2018 because of their efforts to repeal American health care, voted again yesterday in support of rolling back the entire law. All but four Republicans voted against an amendment yesterday offered by U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14) that repudiates the lawsuit supported by President Trump to “terminate” the health care law and which would deny funding to the Department of Justice to litigate on its behalf. The lawsuit Republicans voted in favor of yesterday goes further than any repeal bill they have brought to the floor since President Trump took office, invalidating the entire law, even provisions Republicans supposedly claim to support. In response, Protect Our Care executive director Brad Woodhouse released the following statement:

“Republicans lost one election because of a repeal and sabotage agenda that was rejected by the American people and they seem hellbent on losing another one. More important than the politics is the devastation the Republican war on health care would have on the American people. If successful, this Republican lawsuit, which 98 percent of House Republicans voted to support yesterday, would rip coverage away from millions, throw kids off their parents policies, raise drug prices on seniors, repeal Medicaid expansion and end protections for pre-existing conditions – the health care issue that most contributed to Republicans losing their House majority in November. Americans have repeatedly rejected the GOP’s ongoing war on health care and the question is, will Republicans ever get the message? If yesterday’s vote is any indication, the answer seems to be a resounding ‘no.’”

Fact Sheet On Trump Lawsuit To Overturn ACA

President Trump is trying to rip apart our health care by going to court to eliminate the Affordable Care Act in its entirety. If the Trump lawsuit is successful, it will strip coverage from millions of Americans, raise premiums, 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.

If the Affordable Care Act is struck down:

• GONE: Protections for 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions. The uninsured rate will increase by 65 percent.
• GONE: Medicaid expansion, which covers 17 million people.
• GONE: Nearly 12 million seniors will have to pay more for prescription drugs because the Medicare ‘donut hole’ will be reopened.
• GONE: 2.3 million adult children will no longer be able to stay on their parents’ insurance.
• GONE: Insurance companies will be able to charge women 50 percent more than men.
• GONE: Financial assistance that helps 9 million people purchase health care in the marketplace.
• GONE: Key support for rural hospitals. As Americans lose coverage, already struggling hospitals will be hit even harder as their costs increase.
• GONE: Ban on insurance companies having lifetime caps on coverage.
• GONE: Requirements that insurance companies cover prescription drugs and maternity care.

Thanks To The Republican Lawsuit, 17 Million People Could Lose Their Coverage

• According to the Urban Institute, 19.9 million people could lose coverage by repealing the Affordable Care Act, meaning the number of uninsured Americans would increase from 30.4 million to 50.3 million, representing a leading to a 65 percent increase in the uninsured rate. As the uninsured rate swells, so will the amount of uncompensated care, which Urban predicts will grow by at least 82 percent.

Republicans Want To Put Insurance Companies Back In Charge, Ending Protections For The 130 Million People With A Pre-Existing Condition

• According to a recent analysis by the Center for American Progress, roughly half of nonelderly Americans, or as many as 130 million people, have a pre-existing condition. This includes:
  • 44 million people who have high blood pressure
  • 45 million people who have behavioral health disorders
  • 44 million people who have high cholesterol
  • 34 million people who have asthma and chronic lung disease
  • 34 million people who have osteoarthritis and other joint disorders
• 17 million children, 68 million women, and 30 million people aged 55-64 have a pre-existing condition.

Democrats Pass Underwood Amendment to Defund DOJ’s Texas Lawsuit

Washington, DC— Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to block funding for Trump’s lawsuit that would overturn our health care laws including striking down protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Representative Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14) offered an amendment that would block Trump’s Department of Justice from using federal funds to litigate their current lawsuit to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. Every House Democrat supported the amendment but it was overwhelmingly opposed by Republicans in Congress. In response to the passage of this amendment, Protect Our Care executive director Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement:

“Congresswoman Underwood and her Democratic colleagues are leading the charge to protect Americans’ health care by using every tool in their shed to fight the Trump administration’s disastrous Texas lawsuit. This amendment stops Trump from using taxpayer money to support his reckless attempt to strike down our health care in court – eliminating protections for people with pre-existing conditions and raising the cost of prescription drugs. Every single Republican who voted against this amendment has again endorsed Trump’s approach to health care: repeal, overturn and strike down. Americans rejected this approach in 2018 when they sent scores of Republican House Members packing, and they are no more supportive of the GOP’s repeal and sabotage agenda today.”

Washington, DC — Today, leaders of the Senate HELP Committee unveiled health care legislation to address, among other things, surprise medical bills. In response, Protect Our Care executive director Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement:

“So long as Senate Republicans remain Trump’s top lieutenants in his war on America’s health care, they should not receive credit for solving a problem they have made worse for the American people. Surprise medical billing is a serious issue for patients navigating our health care system, and while it’s encouraging that the Senate is addressing the problem, Republicans do not deserve a pat on the back while they continue supporting the destruction of America’s health care. If Republicans actually cared about patients and improving our health care system, they would denounce Trump’s disastrous Texas lawsuit, disavow junk plans and call for an end to the relentless repeal and sabotage agenda he and they continue to pursue.”