Community Catalyst: In Midst of Pandemic, Trump Plows Forward With Reckless Lawsuit to Strip Health Care From Millions

BOSTON, Massachusetts, June 27 -- Community Catalyst issued the following news release:

As numerous states are reporting major new surges in COVID-19 diagnoses and hospitalizations, the Trump administration filed briefs with the Supreme Court in support of the Health Care Repeal Lawsuit (California v. Texas), which aims to overturn the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

The ACA is now a fundamental part of the fabric of the American health care system alongside Medicare and Medicaid. It provides millions with access to coverage, care and critical consumer protections, which are especially important for people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ people who face unfair and discriminatory barriers to care. If the Supreme Court rules to overturn the ACA, it would result in more than 23 million people losing health care coverage.

This includes 3 million people who have recently gained coverage through the ACA during the economic crisis stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. Repeal of the ACA would also end protections for 133 million people with pre-existing health conditions, including COVID-19 survivors who may have long-term after effects from the virus. In stark contrast to the Trump administration's laser focus on taking away health coverage and care, House Democrats proposed a bill that would make access to high quality health care more equitable by lowering the cost of coverage for working- and middle-class families.

The bill's affordability provisions are especially important for Black and Brown people, who are more likely to be uninsured and to struggle with health care costs due to discriminatory barriers to economic security. The House Democrats' bill is an important reminder that policymakers should be spending their time expanding access to affordable health care - not taking it away as the Trump administration is doing with this lawsuit.

Statement of Emily Stewart, executive director of Community Catalyst, in response to these developments:

"In the middle of a public health crisis that has caused more than 120,000 deaths and the loss of millions of jobs, the Trump administration continues to back a lawsuit that would take health coverage away from 23 million people and put millions more in harm's way.

"These impacts would be particularly disastrous for people of color, who are more likely to lose coverage and to have a pre-existing condition that requires ongoing care. As the nation confronts the structural racism on which it was built, stripping coverage from people of color would further entrench existing health and economic inequities by reversing historic, critical gains in coverage among Black and Latinx people under the Affordable Care Act.

"The Trump administration should stop their reckless campaign to destroy the Affordable Care Act. Unfortunately, there are no signs they will do so. Community Catalyst calls on all policymakers to focus on policies that would make health care more affordable and equitable for people and families across America."