Senator Collins: DOJ Should Defend ACA, Protections for Pre-Existing Conditions

WASHINGTON, July 9 -- Sen. Susan M. Collins, R-Maine, issued the following news release:

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- 133 million Americans - including 590,000 Mainers - are living with pre-existing conditions such as asthma, arthritis, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease

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As the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit hears oral arguments on a case that could determine the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), U.S. Senator Susan Collins, a member of the Senate Health Committee, again urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to defend critical consumer protections for pre-existing conditions and reconsider its position of urging the court to strike down the entire ACA.

"The Affordable Care Act remains the law of the land, and it is the Department of Justice's duty to defend it.

"The Administration should work with Congress to fix the law's problems legislatively, while ensuring that the protections for the millions of Americans who are living with pre-existing conditions such as asthma, arthritis, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease remain in place."

In May 2019, Senator Collins and Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) wrote to Attorney General William Barr to urge him to defend the health care law as well as the protections for people with pre-existing conditions. This letter underscored the points enumerated by Senator Collins in a letter to Attorney General Barr in March and to then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions in June of 2018.

Senator Collins was one of three Republicans to vote against ACA repeal in 2017. One of the major reasons for her decision was her concern for protecting those with pre-existing conditions. Last October, she also voted to block the new CMS regulations that expand limited duration insurance plans because such plans generally do not provide protections for enrollees who suffer from pre-existing conditions.