News

Today, President Trump tweeted a bizarre lie that he alone “saved” protections for pre-existing conditions in health care. The press quickly debunked President Trump’s claim and reminded Americans of the truth about Trump’s disastrous health care agenda. 

Associated Press: AP FACT CHECK: No, Trump Didn’t Save Preexisting Conditions. “People with preexisting medical problems have health insurance protections because of President Barack Obama’s health care law, which Trump is trying to dismantle. One of Trump’s major alternatives to Obama’s law — short-term health insurance, already in place — doesn’t have to cover preexisting conditions. Another major alternative is association health plans, which are oriented to small businesses and sole proprietors and do cover preexisting conditions. Neither of the two alternatives appears to have made much difference in the market. Meanwhile, Trump’s administration has been pressing in court for full repeal of the Obama-era law, including provisions that protect people with preexisting conditions from health insurance discrimination.” [Associated Press, 1/13/20] 

New York Times: To the Contrary, Trump Has Tried to Weaken Protections for Pre-Existing Conditions. “President Trump was not in Washington when the Affordable Care Act passed and established a right to health insurance for Americans with pre-existing health conditions. His first legislative priority as president was a bill that would have repealed key parts of Obamacare and weakened such protections. His Justice Department is arguing in court that the entire law should be overturned.” [New York Times, 1/13/20] 

Washington Times: Trump Misleads On Obamacare In Attacking Bloomberg. “Mr. Trump said he ‘saved Pre-Existing Conditions in your Healthcare,’ although the protections were written into the law that President Obama muscled to passage in 2010. He’s also rooting for a state-driven legal challenge that could upend those very protections.” [The Washington Times, 1/13/20] 

Politico Pro: “Trump’s Claim Monday That He ‘Saved Pre-Existing Conditions’ In Americans’ HealthCare Is A False One — The Latest Attempt By The President To Distort His Years-Long Record Of Trying To Strike Down The Affordable Care Act.” “Trump’s claim Monday that he ‘saved Pre-Existing Conditions’ in Americans’ health care is a false one — the latest attempt by the president to distort his years-long record of trying to strike down the Affordable Care Act. Backed by then-President Barack Obama and passed by Democrats in Congress in 2010, the landmark health care law included historic protections for millions of Americans with chronic illness and other health conditions.” [Politico Pro, 1/13/20] 

MSNBC: “It’s As Brazen A Lie As Trump As Ever Told – And To Know Anything About The President Is To Know The Competition In That Category Is Fierce.” “It’s as brazen a lie as Trump as ever told – and to know anything about the president is to know the competition in that category is fierce. In reality, Trump didn’t “save” protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions; he fought to take those protections away through a series of far-right repeal-and-replace proposals he couldn’t get through a Congress led by his own party. Trump, of course, is also helping champion an ongoing federal lawsuit which would – you guessed it – strip protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions.” [MSNBC, 1/13/20]

Business Insider: Trump Says He ‘Saved’ Protections For Pre-Existing Healthcare Conditions – But He’s Actually Tried Shredding Them For 3 Years. “President Trump sought to place himself as the guardian of a popular part of Obamacare in a series of Monday morning tweets, saying he protected insurance coverage for pre-existing conditions on behalf of millions of Americans. But that doesn’t align with his administration’s record on healthcare.” [Business Insider, 1/13/20] 

Yahoo News: Trump “Misrepresented His Administration’s Health Care Record” While Touting Court Case That Would Throw Millions Of Americans With Pre-Existing Conditions Off Of Their Insurance.  “Trump’s ‘win in court’ reference is about a lawsuit, backed by the Justice Department, that if successful would result in the overturning of the Affordable Care Act (the ACA, or Obamacare). If that happens, many Americans with preexisting conditions could lose their coverage entirely or face significantly higher premiums, unless and until an alternative is passed. Without protections for preexisting conditions provided by Obamacare, the Kaiser Family Foundation estimated in 2015 that up to 52 million people could be denied coverage. Others would lose insurance if the Medicaid expansion that was adopted by dozens of states and D.C. was killed.”” [Yahoo News, 1/13/20]

Vox: Trump Claiming To Be A Defender Of Preexisting Conditions Is Pretty Shameless. “Trump — who in 2017 pushed health care legislation that would’ve resulted in 23 million Americans losing coverage, and whose administration is currently fighting in federal court to strike down the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including its protections for people with preexisting conditions — nonetheless claimed in a tweet attacking Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg on Monday that ‘I was the person who saved Pre-Existing Conditions in your Healthcare, you have it now’…Trump’s tweet is either a big lie, illustrates his profound confusion about health care policy, or some combination thereof.” [Vox, 1/13/20] 

Esquire: Trump Debuts a New Claim That Is the Actual Diametric Opposite of Reality. “This is just unbelievably brazen lying, even by current Presidential Standards. The Trump administration is right now, this second, backing a lawsuit that would completely dismantle the Affordable Care Act. It would strip the guaranteed protection for preexisting conditions that is one of the law’s primary achievements and leave nothing in its place. This is real life: people will lose their coverage and go bankrupt if the decision goes that way. Funny enough, the people who want the law struck down have made it clear to the court that this can wait until after the 2020 election—when they might face some repercussions for their actions. 68 percent of respondents in a Kaiser Family Foundation poll last year said they wanted to maintain the protections.” [Esquire, 1/13/20]

Mother Jones: Don’t Let Trump Fool You Into Thinking He’s Improving Health Care. “President Donald Trump took to Twitter Monday morning with a brazenly false claim about his health care policy. Let’s break this down. First, Trump was not ‘the person who saved Pre-Existing Conditions in your Healthcare.’ All health plans on the Affordable Care Act marketplace are required by law, as enacted under Barack Obama, to cover treatment for preexisting conditions. A 2019 Kaiser Health News fact check found Trump’s repeated claims to protect patients with preexisting conditions false.” [Mother Jones, 1/13/20]

This morning, President Trump tweeted out an early contender for “Lie of the Year,” claiming that he saved pre-existing conditions protections. In reality, the president and his administration have done everything in their power, both in Congress and the courts, to strip protections from 135 million Americans with pre-existing conditions. The president’s claim was quickly debunked by the media, who called out his lie and reminded Americans of the truth about Trump’s disastrous health care agenda. 

Dan Diamond (Politico): “Trump is not ‘the person who saved Pre-Existing Conditions in your Healthcare.’ He is the president who has spent 3 years putting Obamacare’s protections for patients with pre-existing conditions at risk.” [Dan Diamond Twitter, 1/13/20]

Abby Goodnough (New York Times): “There is no possible lens through which this claim about saving pre-existing conditions could be viewed as true.” [Abby Goodnough Twitter, 1/13/20]

Sarah Kliff (New York Times): “The Trump administration is currently asking federal courts to throw out the Affordable Care Act’s protections for pre-existing conditions.” [Sarah Kliff Twitter, 1/13/20]

Margot Sanger-Katz (New York Times): “The president endorsed several bills that would have weakened these protections if they had passed. He had no role in passing Obamacare, which established them. He supports a lawsuit to erase them.” [Margot Sanger-Katz Twitter, 1/13/20]

Alice Miranda Ollstein (Politico): “The Trump administration is arguing in court for the ACA (including protections for preexisting conditions) to be struck down, but they’re asking SCOTUS not to take it up until after the 2020 election.” [Alice Miranda Ollstein Twitter, 1/13/20]

Greg Sargent (Washington Post): “He’s simply incapable of breathing without lying. What transparently stupid gaslighting.” [Greg Sargent Twitter, 1/13/20]

Daniel Dale (CNN): “This is brazen lying. Democrats *got* the protections for people with pre-existing conditions, in Obamacare. Trump has tried to get bills passed that would weaken the protections, is supporting a lawsuit to overturn the whole law, has presented no plan for if the suit succeeds.” [Daniel Dale Twitter, 1/13/20]

Ian Millhiser (Vox): “Have we considered the possibility that Trump knows so little about health policy that he might actually believe that he saved protections for people with preexisting conditions?” [Ian Millhiser Twitter, 1/13/20]

Manu Raju (CNN): “The Affordable Care Act, signed into law by President Obama, guaranteed coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. Trump’s administration backs a lawsuit to invalidate the law, effectively killing the pre-existing conditions provisions in the law.” [Manu Raju Twitter, 1/13/20)

Aaron Rupar (Vox): “The health care bill Trump pushed in 2017 only to be stymied by John McCain would’ve caused 25 million (!) Americans to lose their coverage.” [Aaron Rupar Twitter, 1/13/20]

Sam Stein (The Daily Beast): “Just an absurd lie that takes serious gall to even tell.” [Sam Stein Twitter, 1/13/20]

Washington, DC — Today the President of the United States made one of his most outlandish lies, tweeting that he “saved” pre-existing condition protection, when in fact he has done everything possible to strip 135 million Americans with pre-existing conditions of their protections. In response to this bald-faced lie, Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse released the following statement: 

“President Trump’s claim about ‘saving’ protections for pre-existing conditions is an early contender for lie of the year. From day one in office, the president has waged an all-out war on health care, and protections for the 135 million Americans with pre-existing conditions have been his number one target. If there was any Republican who could have claimed to save Americans’ health care it was Senator John McCain who stopped Trump’s disastrous repeal effort in its tracks. Since then, Trump has taken to court what he could not do in Congress, overturn the health care law and eliminate protection for Americans with pre-existing conditions.” 

Last month, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Trump administration and Republicans in Texas vs. United States, striking down as unconstitutional the ACA’s individual mandate and remanding to the lower court judge a final decision on what parts of the ACA should be eliminated – the very judge who has already ruled the entire law unconstitutional. If President Trump and Republicans have their way, 20 million Americans will lose their insurance coverage, 135 million Americans with pre-existing conditions will be stripped of their protections, and costs will go up for millions. 

“The Fifth Circuit’s disastrous decision on President Trump’s Texas lawsuit puts the health care of millions of Americans at risk. The court’s decision will impact every corner of the American health care system, threatening health care coverage for children and access to care for seniors, women, individuals with disabilities and LGBTQ Americans in communities across the country,” said Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse. “Over these days of action, we will be reminding Americans what’s really at stake if the courts ultimately overturn the health care law.” 

Days of Action: Day 6 of 11 focuses on Children’s Coverage. To learn more about our Days of Action, visit our website.

What’s At Stake: Children’s Coverage

The ACA made significant gains in children’s access to health care. If the health care law is struck down in court:

• Almost three million children nationwide gained coverage thanks to the ACA.  If the law is overturned, many of these children will lose their insurance.
• More than 17 million children with pre-existing conditions could face discrimination. Insurance companies could once again exclude benefits, raise premiums, or deny all coverage altogether for children with conditions like asthma and diabetes. 
• More than 40 million children who have private insurance would lose guaranteed access to free preventive care and could once again face lifetime or annual limits.
•  2.3 million young adults will no longer be able to stay on their parents’ insurance. 

Medicaid Expansion Helps Children. 

Expanding access to Medicaid for parents has had ripple effects for their children. If the ACA is struck down, this progress could be reversed. 

When Parents Have Medicaid, Their Children Are More Likely To Have Regular Care. As summarized by Georgetown University’s Center on Children and Families, recent research finds that “Parents enrolled in Medicaid have children who are 29 percentage points more likely to receive a well-child visit. The relationship is strongest for families with household incomes between 100% and 200% [of the federal poverty line]. In these families, parents enrolled in Medicaid have children who are 45 percentage points more likely to receive a well-child visit.” [Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, 1/12/18]

Medicaid Expansion Led To Gains In Coverage For Children As Well As Parents. A study in Health Affairs found that “710,000 children gained public coverage when their parents enrolled in Medicaid between 2013 and 2015. If the remaining 19 non-expansion states expanded Medicaid, 200,000 additional children would gain health coverage through existing programs. The effect was largest among children whose parents gained Medicaid eligibility through the expansion.”  [Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, 1/12/18]

Last month, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Trump administration and Republicans in Texas vs. United States, striking down as unconstitutional the ACA’s individual mandate and remanding to the lower court judge a final decision on what parts of the ACA should be eliminated – the very judge who has already ruled the entire law unconstitutional. If President Trump and Republicans have their way, 20 million Americans will lose their insurance coverage, 135 million Americans with pre-existing conditions will be stripped of their protections, and costs will go up for millions. 

“The Fifth Circuit’s disastrous decision on President Trump’s Texas lawsuit puts the health care of millions of Americans at risk. The court’s decision will impact every corner of the American health care system, threatening key protections for the LGBTQ community and access to care for children, seniors, women and individuals with disabilities in communities across the country,” said Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse. “Over these days of action, we will be reminding Americans what’s really at stake if the courts ultimately overturn the health care law.” 

Days of Action: Day 5 of 11 focuses on LGBTQ Health Care. To learn more about our Days of Action, visit our website. 

What’s At Stake:  LGBTQ Health Care

The LGBTQ community has unique health care needs and has often experienced high rates of uninsurance and barriers to coverage and care, such as discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation. A study by the Center for American Progress found that 15 percent of LGBTQ Americans were uninsured in 2017, compared to only seven percent of non-LGBTQ Americans.  

Before the ACA came into effect, one in three (34 percent) LGBTQ people making less than $45,000 per year were uninsured. Just one year after the health care law was implemented, in 2014, the rate of uninsurance for this group dropped to 26 percent and by 2017, it was 22 percent. 

If the ACA is overturned, key protections for LGBTQ Americans would be ripped away overnight: 

LGBTQ Americans, women, and individuals with disabilities could face discrimination in health care settings. Section 1557 of the ACA prohibits discrimination the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability by any health program or activity receiving federal assistance. It also prohibits these types of discrimination in health programs and activities administered by HHS as well as the ACA marketplaces. 

LGBTQ adults covered under Medicaid expansion would lose coverage. The ACA expanded Medicaid to childless adults and increased income eligibility levels nationwide, helping many LGBTQ Americans gain coverage. Among all LGBTQ respondents in a 2017 Center for American Progress study, 18 percent had Medicaid coverage. By comparison, Medicaid covered eight percent of non-LGBTQ respondents. An estimated 1.8 million LGBTQ adults have Medicaid coverage. 

Protections for pre-existing conditions would be eliminated. Because of the ACA, insurance companies cannot deny coverage to individuals because of pre-existing conditions. This includes transgender-related medical history as well as substance use disorders, HIV, depression, and other conditions disproportiately affecting LGBTQ Americans. 

Washington, DC — Today, the Trump administration and Republican states bringing the disastrous lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act filed responses to the Democratic states’ cert petition filed last week which argued that the Supreme Court should immediately take this case and get the politics out of our health care system. In their statement, Republicans proved they are more worried about the politics of this case rather than the health care of millions of Americans who are at risk because of their lawsuit. In response to the Republicans’ statement today, Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse released the following statement: 

“The only reason the Trump administration and Republicans would object to the Supreme Court taking up this case is their desire to send it back to a partisan judge who will wait until after the election to rip apart the health care law. It’s been clear all along that Republicans just want to overturn the law but they want to hide their actions from voters in an attempt to avoid political consequences in an election year. The Supreme Court has a clear duty to hear this case and get the politics out of our health care system. The court can finally put an end to the terrible uncertainty created by this lawsuit that hangs over the health care of millions of Americans.”

Last month, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Trump administration and Republicans in Texas vs. United States, striking down as unconstitutional the ACA’s individual mandate and remanding to the lower court judge a final decision on what parts of the ACA should be eliminated – the very judge who has already ruled the entire law unconstitutional. If President Trump and Republicans have their way, 20 million Americans will lose their insurance coverage, 135 million Americans with pre-existing conditions will be stripped of their protections, and costs will go up for millions. 

“The Fifth Circuit’s disastrous decision on President Trump’s Texas lawsuit puts the health care of millions of Americans at risk. The court’s decision will impact every corner of the American health care system, endangering critical protections for seniors and access to care for children, women, individuals with disabilities, and LGBTQ Americans in communities across the country,” said Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse. “Over the course of these days of action, we will be reminding Americans what’s really at stake if the courts ultimately overturn the health care law.” 

Days of Action: Day 4 of 11 focuses on Key Protections For Seniors. To learn more about our Days of Action, visit our website.

What’s At Stake: Key Protections For Seniors

The Affordable Care Act ensures critical protections for seniors and older adults nationwide. Between lowering prescription drug costs and limiting the amount insurers can charge, the ACA expanded access to health care for individuals aged 50 and older. 

AARP: Before ACA’s Protections, Discrimination Against Those With Pre-Existing Conditions, Age Rating, And Annual And Lifetime Caps Made Accessing Health Care Out Of Reach For Older Adults. [AARP, 6/14/18]

In addition to making  health care more affordable, the ACA saved lives. 

Medicaid Expansion Saved The Lives Of At Least 19,200 Older Adults. A report by the Center On Budget And Policy Priorities found that “The Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) expansion of Medicaid to low-income adults is preventing thousands of premature deaths each year, a landmark study finds.[1] It saved the lives of at least 19,200 adults aged 55 to 64 over the four-year period from 2014 to 2017. Conversely, 15,600 older adults died prematurely because of state decisions not to expand Medicaid.”  [Center On Budget And Policy Priorities, 11/6/19] 

Seniors stand to lose if the ACA is overturned. If the ACA is struck down in court: 

People Over The Age of 50 Will 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.

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.

Seniors Will No Longer Be Guaranteed Free Preventive Services And Annual Check-Ups. 60 million people with Medicare have access to free preventive services because of the Affordable Care Act.

Seniors Could Once Again See Less Coordinated Care. Provisions in the ACA encouraged groups of doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers to come together to provide coordinated high-quality care to the Medicare patients they serve. In fact, 8.9 million Medicare beneficiaries are now benefiting from higher quality, more coordinated care. 

Washington, DC — Today, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly announced an agreement with the Republican State Senate Leader to fully expand the state’s Medicaid program, covering up to an additional 150,000 Kansans. In response to this historic bipartisan agreement to expand Medicaid, Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse released the following statement: 

“It’s undeniable that Medicaid expansion has enabled more Americans to receive coverage, and thanks to Governor Kelly’s leadership, an additional 150,000 Kansans will soon have access to care and vital health services through the program. In Kansas and across the country, voters continue electing Democrats because they promised to make Medicaid expansion a top priority, and today’s announcement is further evidence they are delivering on that promise. Republicans who continue blocking efforts to expand Medicaid do so at their own political peril. 

“While states like Kansas march ahead to expand Medicaid coverage through the Affordable Care Act, President Trump and Republicans are in court trying to destroy the law and make the progress that Kansas has made disappear. President Trump and Republicans in Congress should look at this bipartisan agreement in Kansas as a model and start working to improve American health care instead of continually working to undermine it.”  

BACKGROUND:

Medicaid Expansion Saves Lives. A report by the Center On Budget And Policy Priorities found that “the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) expansion of Medicaid to low-income adults is preventing thousands of premature deaths each year, a landmark study finds.[1] It saved the lives of at least 19,200 adults aged 55 to 64 over the four-year period from 2014 to 2017. Conversely, 15,600 older adults died prematurely because of state decisions not to expand Medicaid.” [Center On Budget And Policy Priorities, 11/6/19] 

Medicaid Expansion Led To Gains In Coverage For Children. A study in Health Affairs found that “710,000 children gained public coverage when their parents enrolled in Medicaid between 2013 and 2015. If the remaining 19 non-expansion states expanded Medicaid, 200,000 additional children would gain health coverage through existing programs. The effect was largest among children whose parents gained Medicaid eligibility through the expansion.”  [Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, 1/12/18]

For more on the benefits of Medicaid expansion, click here. 

If Trump Gets His Way, Medicaid Expansion –Which Covers 17 Million People Nationwide– Would Be Eliminated. 

• 150,000 Kansans who could gain coverage under this proposal will be denied that possibility. 
• Access To Treatment Would Be In Jeopardy For 800,000 People With Opioid Use Disorder. Roughly four in ten, or 800,000 people with an opioid use disorder are enrolled in Medicaid. Many became eligible through Medicaid expansion.
• Key Support For Rural Hospitals Would Disappear, leaving Kansas hospitals with $313 million more in uncompensated care. 

Washington, DC — President Trump’s rally in Toledo, Ohio tonight comes on the heels of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ disastrous decision on Texas v. United States, the lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act. Ahead of Trump’s rally, Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse released the following statement:

“Ohioans probably won’t hear anything from President Trump about his disastrous lawsuit to rip apart our health care law during his rally tonight. If ultimately successful, President Trump’s Texas lawsuit would take coverage away from 20 million Americans including nearly 750,000 Ohioans, increase prescription drug costs, put access to treatment for people with opioid use disorder in jeopardy and strip protections from nearly 5 million Ohioans with a pre-existing condition. Despite escalating tensions in the Middle East and the looming impeachment trial in the Senate, Americans haven’t lost sight of the fact that President Trump is hellbent on ripping away their health care.” 

BACKGROUND:

If Trump Gets His Way, Ohioans Would Lose Their Coverage

• 741,000 Ohioans could lose coverage. According to the Urban Institute, 741,000 Ohioans would lose coverage by repealing the Affordable Care Act, leading to a 105 percent increase in the uninsured rate.
• 81,000 Ohio young adults with their parents’ coverage could lose care. Because of the Affordable Care Act, millions of young adults are able to stay on their parents’ care until age 26.
• 51,000 Ohio children could lose their coverage. Almost three million children nationwide gained coverage thanks to the ACA. If the law is overturned, many of these children will lose their insurance.
• 26,400 Ohio Latinos could lose coverage. The percentage of people gaining health insurance under the ACA was higher for Latinos than for any other racial or ethnic group in the country. According to a study from Families USA, 5.4 million Latinos nationwide would lose coverage if the lawsuit succeeds in overturning the ACA.
• Ohioans would lose important federal health care funding — an estimated reduction of $4.4 billion in the first year. The Urban Institute estimates that a full repeal of the ACA would reduce federal spending on Ohioans’ Medicaid/CHIP care and Marketplace subsidies by $4.4 billion. 

If Trump Gets His Way, Insurance Companies Would Be Put Back In Charge, Ending Protections For The 135 Million People Nationwide 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 135 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
•  4,803,700 Ohioans have a pre-existing condition, including 620,600 Ohio children, 2,394,000 Ohio women, and 1,219,200 Ohioans between ages 55 and 64. 

If Trump Gets His Way, Insurance Companies Would Have The Power To Charge You More, While Their Profits Soar

• 5,240,575 Ohioans 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 5,240,575 Ohioans, most of whom have employer coverage.
• 151,026 Ohioans in the Marketplaces Would Pay More for Coverage. If the Trump-GOP lawsuit is successful, consumers would 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, including 151,026 in Ohio.
• 214,388 Ohio Seniors Could Have to Pay More for Prescription Drugs. If the Trump-GOP lawsuit is successful, seniors could have to pay more for prescription drugs because the Medicare “donut” hole would be 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 CMS report. In Ohio, 214,388 seniors each saved an average of $$1,103.
• Reinstate Lifetime and Annual Limits On 4,154,000 Privately Insured Ohioans. Repealing the Affordable Care Act means insurance companies would be able to impose annual and lifetime limits on coverage for those insured through their employer or on the individual market.

If Trump Gets His Way, Medicaid Expansion Would Be Repealed

• 717,100 Ohioans Enrolled Through Medicaid Expansion Could Lose Coverage. Seventeen million people have coverage through the expanded Medicaid program, including 717,100 in Ohio. 
• Access To Treatment Would Be In Jeopardy For 800,000 People With Opioid Use Disorder. Roughly four in ten, or 800,000 people with an opioid use disorder are enrolled in Medicaid. Many became eligible through Medicaid expansion.
• Key Support For Rural Hospitals Would Disappear, leaving Ohio hospitals with $1.9 billion more in uncompensated care. 

Last month, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Trump administration and Republicans in Texas vs. United States, striking down as unconstitutional the ACA’s individual mandate and remanding to the lower court judge a final decision on what parts of the ACA should be eliminated – the very judge who has already ruled the entire law unconstitutional. If President Trump and Republicans have their way, 20 million Americans will lose their insurance coverage, 135 million Americans with pre-existing conditions will be stripped of their protections, and costs will go up for millions. 

“The Fifth Circuit’s disastrous decision on President Trump’s Texas lawsuit puts the health care of millions of Americans at risk. The court’s decision will impact every corner of the American health care system, threatening the health care of millions of Americans with disabilities and access to care for children, seniors, women, and LGBTQ Americans in communities across the country,” said Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse. “Over the course of the next two weeks, we will be reminding Americans what’s really at stake if the courts ultimately overturn the health care law.” 

Days of Action: Day 3 of 11 focuses on Protections For Individuals With Disabilities. To learn more about our Days of Action, visit our website.

What’s At Stake: Protections For Individuals With Disabilities

Medicaid Is A Lifeline For People With Disabilities

If The Texas Lawsuit Succeeds, 17 Million People Covered By Medicaid Expansion—Including Individuals With Disabilities—Will Lose Coverage. 

• 61 million Americans have a disability. Without the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies could once again deny them coverage, drop their coverage for no reason, or charge them more because of a pre-existing condition. 
• 8.7 million nonelderly adults with disabilities depend on Medicaid for care.
• More than 1 in 3 adults under age 65 enrolled in Medicaid lives with at least one disability. 
• 45 percent of adults with disabilities have Medicaid coverage. Medicaid covers 45 percent of nonelderly adults with disabilities, including adults with physical disabilities, developmental disabilities, brain injuries, and mental illness.

Medicaid Expansion Increased Employment For People With Disabilities. “Individuals with disabilities are significantly more likely to be employed if they live in a state that has expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, a new study has found. Researchers at the University of Kansas co-authored a study that found a 6 percentage-point difference in employment rates among working-age adults with disabilities in states that expanded Medicaid and those that chose not to.” [The University Of Kansas, 12/21/16] 

Republican Efforts To Repeal Medicaid Expansion Would Mean 64 Percent Of Medicaid Adults With Disabilities Would Lose Coverage. “The Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion covers 11 million people.  Many of them struggle with a chronic illness or a disability (such as a mental health condition) that wouldn’t, by itself, qualify them for Medicaid.  Only 36 percent of non-elderly Medicaid beneficiaries with disabilities receive Supplemental Security Income, which allows them to enroll in Medicaid even without the expansion.  While others may be eligible for Medicaid based on other criteria, many could lose Medicaid coverage under the House bill and wind up uninsured.” [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 8/29/17]

THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT PROVIDED AFFORDABLE COVERAGE AND HEALTH SECURITY TO PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: 

The Affordable Care Act Prevents Insurance Companies From Charging Americans With A Disability More, Or Denying Them Coverage Altogether. Prior to the ACA, insurance companies were allowed to charge people more or deny coverage simply because they had a pre-existing condition. The ACA banned this practice, requiring that insurance companies offer people coverage regardless of their health status.

Thanks To The Affordable Care Act, Insurance Companies Can No Longer Impose Annual And Lifetime Limits On Coverage. Before the ACA, insurance companies could restrict the dollar amount of benefits someone could use per year or over a lifetime. At the time the ACA was passed, 91 million Americans had health care through their employers that imposed lifetime limits. Many such plans capped benefits at $1 million annually, functionally locking people with complex medical needs out of coverage. 

Under The ACA, Insurance Companies Can No Longer Practice Medical Underwriting, A Process That Let Insurers Make It Harder For People With Disabilities To Get The Coverage They Needed. Before the ACA, insurance companies could screen applicants for any conditions that might be costly to the company. If someone had condition that was predicted to cost the insurance company more, the insurance company would follow a practice called “medical underwriting” that allowed them to charge the applicant a higher premium, specifically exclude coverage for the condition that was expected to be costly, charge the applicant a higher deductible, or limit the applicant’s benefits (for instance, offer a policy that did not cover prescription drugs).

The ACA Requires Insurance Companies To Cover Basic Health Services. The Affordable Care Act established the ten essential health benefits, requiring insurance companies to cover rehabilitative or habilitative services, hospitalization, maternity care, prescription drugs, maternity care, and mental health services. Before the ACA, many people with disabilities had insurance that didn’t cover basic health care needs.