Tag: ACA

REAL STORIES: Families Hurt By Republican-Driven Ruling To Overturn The ACA

Republicans have come as close as they’ve ever been to destroying the Affordable Care Act. Friday’s court ruling over a GOP lawsuit to overturn the ACA could take health care away from millions and put tens of millions more at risk of not being able to get the care they need.

Here are stories of families who are afraid and could be hurt from Friday’s court ruling:

“Well, I’m worried about our whole family, honestly. … Medical bankruptcies are a reality and they were a much bigger reality before the Affordable Care Act.” – California resident

“It puts the fear in me. We’ve worked so hard for Jacob to do as well as he is right now. The last thing I want us to do is to not get the health care he needs to maintain that quality of life. It’s scary for a parent.” – Georgia resident Continue reading “REAL STORIES: Families Hurt By Republican-Driven Ruling To Overturn The ACA”

GOP lawmakers distance themselves from ObamaCare ruling

Republicans are keeping their distance from a recent court ruling that struck down ObamaCare, as GOP lawmakers are wary of the political backlash that could ensue from scrapping the law.

Many congressional Republicans remain silent after a federal judge on Friday struck down the Affordable Care Act in its entirety. And those who have spoken out largely steered clear of embracing the decision.

The muted response illustrates how the politics of the 2010 health law have shifted, with Democrats successfully hammering Republicans during the 2018 midterms over GOP efforts to weaken the law’s pre-existing condition protections.

View the complete December 17 article by Peter Sullivan on The Hill website here.

Legal experts rip judge’s rationale for declaring Obamacare law invalid

A federal judge in Texas on Dec. 14 ruled the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional, due to a recent change in federal tax law. (Reuters)

A federal judge’s ruling declaring the entire Affordable Care Act invalid came under harsh attack Saturday from legal analysts who predicted higher courts will reject the rationale as a tortured effort to rewrite not just the law but congressional history.

The ruling in Texas came on the eve of Saturday’s deadline for Americans to sign up for coverage in the federal insurance exchange created by the ACA, more commonly called Obamacare. The judge did not issue any injunction in the case, meaning that in the short term, nothing will change in health-care services or insurance while the courts consider the issue.

The 55-page ruling late Friday from U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor found the law invalid on the basis of the political and legal history of a few key provisions. O’Connor decided that once Congress repealed the tax penalty that enforced a mandate that most Americans get health insurance, the whole law became invalid.

View the complete December 15 article by Devlin Barrett on The Washington Post website here.

Republicans Own Court Ruling That Would Take Health Care Away From Millions

With Friday’s court ruling, Republicans have come as close as they’ve ever been to destroying the Affordable Care Act. It’s now clear that Republicans lied about protecting people with pre-existing conditions. Republicans are responsible for this threat to Americans’ health care, and will stop at nothing to dismantle the ACA.

The court’s ruling could take health care away from 20 million Americans, and puts as many as 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions at risk.

Politico: “A federal judge in Texas threw the health coverage of some 20 million Americans in limbo by ruling Obamacare must be scrapped because Congress struck the penalty for failing to obtain insurance coverage.”

CBS News: “Around 130 million people in the United States have pre-existing conditions, and without the ACA, insurers would no longer be required to cover those conditions.” Continue reading “Republicans Own Court Ruling That Would Take Health Care Away From Millions”

Trump Celebrates Taking Health Care From Millions

Trump immediately celebrated Friday’s court ruling to overturn the Affordable Care Act. What Trump is really celebrating is taking health care away from millions and putting tens of millions more at risk of not being able to get the care they need.

Trump immediately celebrated Friday’s court ruling to overturn the Affordable Care Act.

CNN: “Trump immediately tweeted in celebration on Friday and called on Congress to act.”

Trump: “Wow, but not surprisingly, ObamaCare was just ruled UNCONSTITUTIONAL by a highly respected judge in Texas. Great news for America!” Continue reading “Trump Celebrates Taking Health Care From Millions”

Ruling on Health Care Law Leaves Consumers Confused

Law remains in place for now

The most immediate impact of a ruling striking down the 2010 health care law could be confusion and depressed sign-ups in the law’s insurance marketplaces on the final day of open enrollment.

The law remains in place for now — but some consumers may not understand that.

If the federal judge’s ruling Friday night is affirmed, it could cause upheaval in the U.S. health care system. Its immediate effects are minimal, though, as the ruling is expected to be stayed as the case winds through the courts and did not come in the form of an injunction.

View the December 15 article by Mary Ellen McIntire on The Roll Call website here.

Federal judge in Texas strikes down ObamaCare

A federal judge in Texas on Friday struck down the Affordable Care Act, throwing a new round of uncertainty into the fate of the law just one day before the deadline to sign up for coverage for next year.

U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor ruled that the law’s individual mandate is unconstitutional, and that because the mandate cannot be separated from the rest of the law, the rest of the law is also invalid.

The ruling is certain to be appealed, and legal experts in both parties have said they ultimately expect the challenge to the health law will not succeed. ObamaCare will remain in effect while the case is appealed.

View the complete December 14 article by Peter Sullivan on The Hill website here.

DNC on Health Care Ruling in Texas

DNC Chair Tom Perez released the following statement after a federal judge in Texas ruled core provisions of the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional, siding with Trump and Republicans:

“Republicans are as close as they’ve ever been to destroying the Affordable Care Act and taking health care away from millions of Americans. This decision threatens the lives of so many who have benefitted from the Affordable Care Act – from people with pre-existing conditions to children who have finally gotten access to the care they deserve. It must be appealed immediately.

“This case is emblematic of the concerted effort by Republicans at every level of government – from statehouses, to Congress, to the White House. For nearly a decade now, the Republican Party has been defined by its cruel, costly, and relentless goal to take away people’s health care. They didn’t stop after the Supreme Court ruled the ACA constitutional in 2012. They didn’t stop after the American people overwhelmingly rejected their attempts to repeal the law last year. They didn’t stop when American voters across the country went to the polls last month and voted for Democrats up and down the ballot. And as today’s decision makes clear, they won’t stop until they have reached their goal of completely dismantling the ACA. Continue reading “DNC on Health Care Ruling in Texas”

DNC on Trump’s Latest ACA Sabotage

In response to the Trump administration’s new guidance encouraging states to skirt the ACA’s current income and coverage standards for federal health insurance subsidies, DNC spokesperson Daniel Wessel released the following statement:

“Despite the fact that voters overwhelmingly rejected Republicans’ health care sabotage in the midterm elections, Trump just took one of his most extreme steps yet to undermine the Affordable Care Act. The Trump administration’s new guidance undermines the law’s protections that currently help millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions obtain affordable coverage, and it could put health care out of reach for families across the country.

“While Republicans have made it clear they have no interest in protecting Americans’ health care, Democrats will continue to fight to increase access and affordability so working families can get the care they need.”

6 Ways Trump Sabotaged ACA Open Enrollment

Today is the beginning of the Affordable Care Act’s open enrollment period.  Open enrollment runs through December 15 and you can sign up at www.healthcare.gov.

Democrats want everyone to know about open enrollment so all Americans know they have the opportunity to buy insurance and remain insured. Trump doesn’t want anyone to find out about open enrollment, because he doesn’t want the ACA to succeed.

Here are 6 of the worst ways Trump has worked to sabotage ACA open enrollment

  1. The Trump administration again scheduled downtime for the healthcare.gov website weekly throughout the open enrollment period.

  1. The open enrollment period is now half as long as it used to be before the Trump administration’s sabotage.

  1. The Trump administration is promoting junk insurance plans that undermine the ACA marketplace and may not provide the level of coverage people need.

  1. The Trump administration slashed millions of dollars from outreach programs and advertising aimed at enrolling people in Obamacare plans.

  1. The Trump administration limited and even abandoned state and community partnerships that have played a key role in enrolling harder-to-reach demographics.

  1. Trump’s HHS spent taxpayer resources to produce anti-ACA videos and scrubbed its website of useful consumer guidance on the ACA.