As Maine people contend with an ongoing pandemic, Republicans are moving forward with lawsuit that could eliminate health coverage for 20 million Americans

 

Despite the ongoing coronavirus crisis, Republicans have confirmed that they plan to push ahead with a lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act. This lawsuit was made possible in the first place by Senator Susan Collins’ vote for the GOP tax bill in 2017 and, if successful, could lead to a 164% increase in the number of uninsured Mainers.

 

“It’s unconscionable for national Republicans to try to take health care away from millions of Americans in the middle of a public health crisis,” said Maine Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Marra. “Senator Collins voted to put our care at risk, and if this lawsuit is successful, Maine people will be paying the price for her irresponsible choice for years to come.”

 

The Daily Beast: GOP Plows Forward on Plans to Kill Obamacare, Pandemic Be Damned

 

By Sam Brodey

March 30, 2020

 

Key Points:

 

  • The worsening coronavirus outbreak may be stretching the limits of the U.S. health care system and overwhelming state governments, but that isn’t deterring a group of 18 state attorneys general from plowing ahead with a lawsuit that could overturn the Affordable Care Act within a year—a move that could disrupt the health care system at a time of deep crisis. 

 

  • Their determination to kill the law, no matter the circumstances, mirrors President Trump’s. Asked at a press conference last week whether the virus had changed his plans to press ahead in court, Trump affirmed that "what we want to do is terminate it.” 

 

  • If the Trump administration and these states succeed in repealing the ACA, the impact on the country’s public health system would be immense, pandemic or not. That the decision could come early next year—at the tail end or recovery stage of a devastating outbreak—gives it a seismic significance for the 20 million Americans covered by the law, the 84 million who are uninsured or under-insured, and the insurers, hospitals, and governments that have adapted to Obamacare over the course of a decade.

 

  • While Congress has passed legislation to provide free coronavirus testing to everyone, health insurance to cover related treatments and other ailments is another matter. Last week, an uninsured Boston woman who contracted COVID-19 and went to the hospital was sent a bill for $35,000. On Wednesday, the mayor of Lancaster, California, confirmed that a 17-year old boy died from COVID-19 after a local hospital turned him away for treatment because he didn’t have insurance. 

 

  • Unless legislators step in with a ready-made replacement for Obamacare—which is unlikely—at least 20 million Americans would lose their coverage if the Supreme Court strikes it down.

 

  • Tara Straw, a health care analyst at the left-leaning Center for Budget and Policy Priorities who has studied the Texas case, said that pressing ahead with efforts to overturn the ACA right now is “unconscionable.” She predicted the decision could have far-reaching consequences: if the coronavirus outbreak spurs a long period of high unemployment, for example, far more than 20 million people could lose coverage if the ACA is struck down. 

 

  • That could also shift heavy cost burdens to state governments that are facing long-term financial stress because of the crisis, and hurt broader recovery if people are directing more of their income to medical care. “Talk about compounding a crisis,” said Straw. 

 

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