Senator Collins’ vote for GOP tax bill laid the groundwork for case that could lead to 164% increase in the number of uninsured Mainers
Today, opening briefs are due in California v. Texas, the Trump-Republican U.S. Supreme Court case attempting to take away health care from 20 million Americans, including an estimated 83,000 Mainers, by overturning the Affordable Care Act. The Republican lawsuit was “sparked” by the GOP tax bill that Senator Susan Collins supported, and would strip protections for as many as 133 million Americans with preexisting conditions.
The ACA is one of the most critical tools to protect Mainers from the consequences of the coronavirus, but thanks to Senator Collins’ vote for the 2017 tax bill, Trump and Republicans are still able to move full steam ahead with their lawsuit to take away health care. Now, even as 30 million Americans, including more than 108,000 Mainers, have filed unemployment claims, Trump and Washington Republicans have refused to reopen the ACA’s open enrollment period to expand access to coverage, making it increasingly difficult for the more than 100,000 Mainers who don’t have health insurance to secure coverage amid this pandemic.
“When the Supreme Court hears this case, there will likely be no vaccine and no viable treatment for the coronavirus, and yet Trump and Washington Republicans are plowing ahead with their lawsuit to take away health care from tens of thousands of Mainers,” said Lisa Roberts, Executive Director of the Maine Democratic Party. “There has never been a more important time to protect and expand health care coverage, and there’s never been a worse time to rip it away. This Trump-Republican lawsuit is not only cruel, it would be disastrous for Mainers at a time when we need health care the most.”
###