Murphy: If This Lawsuit Is Successful, America Will Suffer Through A Humanitarian Catastrophe

WASHINGTON - Ahead of Tuesday's oral arguments in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Texas v. United States, a partisan lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act (ACA), U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, joined Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and U.S. Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) on Monday to discuss what's at stake for the 522,000 people in Connecticut and over 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions if the ACA is overturned by the courts.

Last year, 18 Republican state attorneys general, led by Texas, sued the federal government arguing that the ACA is unconstitutional. The Trump administration took the unprecedented step to side with the partisan lawsuit. It's important lawmakers and state governments brace for impact should this lawsuit prevail and the entire ACA is repealed.

"The complete obliteration of the Affordable Care Act with nothing to replace it would be absolutely devastating for this country and for millions of Americans that rely on this coverage," said Murphy. "This lawsuit is part and parcel of a concerted campaign by the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans to try to destroy the Affordable Care Act by any means possible. They couldn't do it through legislation because the American people rose up in 2017 and stopped their repeal effort. But they have been trying through executive action, regulation and court filings to destroy people's health care."

Full transcript of Murphy's remarks:

"Thank you very much, Senator Wyden and thanks to Senator Schumer for kicking us off and making this the priority for Senate Democrats. Particularly this week is we get ready for oral arguments in Texas v. United States.

"If this lawsuit is successful, America will suffer through a humanitarian catastrophe, 20 million people losing insurance overnight cannot be handled by America's emergency rooms. Millions of people with preexisting conditions will go back to being on the sidelines of insurance. Medicaid will be withdrawn from 17 million Americans. The complete obliteration of the Affordable Care Act with nothing to replace it would be absolutely devastating for this country and for millions of Americans that rely on this coverage. And let's be honest, there is no way that the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans can pick back up the pieces if this lawsuit is successful.

"Many Republicans in Congress have been aiders and abettors of this lawsuit. Republicans in Congress had had the chance to support legislation that would pull the administration out of this lawsuit they have refused to do that. Republicans in Congress could be sitting down and starting to plan for the potential that this lawsuit is successful. They refuse to do that. This lawsuit is part and parcel of a concerted campaign by the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans to try to destroy the Affordable Care Act by any means possible. They couldn't do it through legislation because the American people rose up in 2017 and stopped their repeal effort. But they have been trying through executive action, regulation and court filings to destroy people's health care. And it is already working.

"You know, let's not lose sight of the fact that there are one and a half million Americans who don't have insurance today, who had it in 2016. The Trump administration through executive action has already stripped insurance away from over a million Americans, 20 million Americans health care is now at risk. This court case. So we're going to be raising this in every form possible, especially this week as these oral arguments go forward.

"Make no mistake, this lawsuit has a good chance of succeeding. I understand that there are some legal scholars that say that the theory of the petitioners is wacky, but it survived the district court, and it now has the administration as a full and complete partner with the attorneys general. There is real muscle on the side of the plaintiffs in this case, there is already a judgment in favor of the plaintiffs. And so I think it stands to reason that we should be very worried that this case will be successful at the appellate level and we will be dealing with a potential absolute healthcare catastrophe with no way for this Republican Congress and administration to put the pieces back together."

Read this original document at: https://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/ahead-of-oral-arguments-in-texas-v-united-states-murphy-lays-out-whats-at-stake-for-the-affordable-care-act