Washington, DC — Today, Republicans in the United States Senate voted to confirm Chad Readler’s lifetime nomination to the Sixth Circuit of the US Court of Appeals. Readler led the effort in the Trump Justice Department to eliminate protections for pre-existing conditions by filing the brief on behalf of the Trump administration in Texas v. United States. Leslie Dach, chair of Protect Our Care, issued a statement in response to the vote:
“Make no mistake, the Republicans who voted to confirm Chad Readler were voting for full repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Republicans who voted for Chad Readler want to go back to the days where insurance companies could deny, drop or charge more for coverage for millions of people with pre-existing conditions. Readler tried to sabotage the ACA from within the administration, and now that he’s on the court, he will be able to sabotage your care from the bench. It’s clear that Republicans didn’t learn their lesson from the November election and they must be held accountable for giving a anti-health care nominee a lifetime appointment.”
Background:
As Acting Assistant Attorney General, Chad Readler filed a brief on behalf of the Trump administration in Texas v. United States arguing that protections for people with pre-existing conditions under the Affordable Care Act should be struck down. This put the full weight of the Department of Justice behind the Republican war on health care to overturn the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA). In December, a federal judge ruled in favor of the Republican plaintiffs, striking down the entire ACA. If this ruling is allowed to stand:
- Marketplace tax credits and coverage for 10 million people: GONE.
- Medicaid expansion currently covering 15 million people: GONE.
- Protections for more than 130 million people with pre-existing conditions when they buy coverage on their own: GONE.
- Allowing children to stay on their parents’ insurance until age 26: GONE.
- Free annual wellness exams: GONE.
- Ban on annual and lifetime limits: GONE.
- Ban on insurance discrimination against women: GONE.
- Contraception with no out-of-pocket costs: GONE.
- Limit on out-of-pocket costs: GONE.
- Requirement that insurance companies cover essential benefits like prescription drugs, maternity care, and hospitalization: GONE.
- Improvements to Medicare, including reduced costs for prescription drugs: GONE.
- Closed Medicare prescription drug donut hole: GONE.
- Rules to hold insurance companies accountable: GONE.
- Small business tax credits: GONE.