With Supreme Court Nomination Putting ACA At Risk, Sen. King Seeks Stories of Law's Benefits for Maine People

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 -- Sen. Angus S. King Jr., I-Maine, issued the following news release on Sept. 29:

Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) announced that he is launching a portal on his website seeking feedback from Maine people on their experiences with the Affordable Care Act, in an effort to inform his work in Congress to protect the law from legal threats. Senator King's effort comes as the Supreme Court is just weeks away from hearing oral arguments on the future of the Affordable Care Act, in which the Trump Administration will argue that the law should be entirely repealed based on provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. If the Trump Administration is successful, millions of Americans who rely on the ACA's Marketplace and protections for pre-existing conditions will have their insurance ripped away in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Maine people wishing to share their stories can do so by visiting king.senate.gov/aca.

"For more than a decade, the Affordable Care Act has helped hundreds of thousands of Maine people access affordable, life-saving health insurance," said Senator King. "Today, there are nearly 62,000 Maine people utilizing the Medicaid expansion, more than 75,000 people who secure coverage through the ACA's Marketplace, and a whopping 225,000 Mainers under the age of 65 living with pre-existing conditions who don't have to worry about being denied coverage. Now, the law isn't perfect - but that doesn't mean the best way to make our healthcare system better is to tear it up with no replacement.

"As the majority of my Republican colleagues push forward with a Supreme Court nominee who poses a serious threat to the ACA, I want to hear directly from Maine people, and bring my colleagues firsthand stories from my constituents about the harm this repeal would cause. This is truly a matter of life-and-death, and I won't stop fighting to make sure Maine people have a voice in the future of their healthcare."

This week, Senator King published an op-ed in the Portland Press Herald and the Bangor Daily News, emphasizing the harm that may be done to hundreds of thousands of Maine people if a Supreme Court Justice - who may be the deciding vote on this case - is rushed through before the election. The Affordable Care Act has been upheld as constitutional twice by the Supreme Court; this case, California v. Texas, hinges on an provision in the deeply misguided 2017 tax bill.

Senator King has been a vocal proponent of protecting and improving the Affordable Care Act, which has helped millions of Americans access healthcare. In July 2018, Senator King joined a group of his colleagues to introduce a resolution that would have authorized the Senate Legal Counsel to intervene in Texas v. United States, and in December 2018 he joined a group of Senate colleagues to call on President Trump to condemn the resulting decision in the case. He has also fought the Administration's various attempts to sabotage the healthcare law, urged Maine people to sign up for health insurance during the shortened Open Enrollment period, and met with Maine people around the state to discuss the ACA's importance to their lives.