WSJ Report: LePage-Backed Lawsuit Threatens Employer-Sponsored Health Care; MDP Calls on Moody to Speak Up

In wake of report, and Moody’s failure to answer questions, MDP calls on Moody to tell Mainers where he stands on federal lawsuit

Westbrook, MAINE – In case you missed it, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that the federal lawsuit backed by Republican Governor LePage to undermine the Affordable Care Act could “rewind some protections for the vast majority of Americans—some 175 million people—who get health coverage via small and large employers.”

Unwinding those protections, according to the report, could allow employers to: 

  • “impose lengthy waiting periods for health coverage on new hires”; 
  • “not opt to cover a new hire’s specific health problem, like cancer, for up to a year”; 
  • or allow insurance companies to charge companies “more to cover their workers if they have a large number of older or sicker people…that can indirectly lead to higher costs for workers.”

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 645,400 Mainers, or approximately 49 percent of the population of Maine, have employer-sponsored health care.

The Maine Democratic Party yesterday asked Shawn Moody whether or not he sided with Governor LePage to back the federal lawsuit or whether he stood with Maine people and their ability to access affordable health care for themselves and their family. Moody has not answered. 

In light of this new report, Maine Democratic Party Chairman Phil Bartlett is calling on Moody to speak out:

“Hundreds of thousands of Mainers rely on health coverage through their employer, and, as this report shows, the lawsuit backed by Governor LePage directly threatens the critical safeguards put in place to protect them from being discriminated against. 

“No one in Maine should have to worry about their ability to get affordable health insurance because of a pre-existing condition or because they change jobs. But if this suit is successful, they may.

“Shawn Moody has fought against affordable, accessible health care by railing against the Affordable Care Act, pledging to repeal voter-approved Medicaid expansion, and declaring health care a privilege for the few. Today, I am calling on him to tell Maine people whether or not he supports this lawsuit. We deserve to know if he wants to be our governor.”

Moody has shown that, like Governor LePage, he’s no friend of affordable, accessible health care. Last week, Moody bluntly said that health care is a privilege. He also pledged to fight to repeal Medicaid expansion and he has railed against the Affordable Care Act. 

To read the complete Wall Street Journal story, click HERE.

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