Murray on Trump Administration’s Defense of Striking Down Families’ Health Care: If President Trump Wins, Families Lose

Murray: “If President Trump wins, families lose. They will lose their health care, they will lose protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and they will lose to insurance companies who will once again have free rein to… deny coverage… and leave patients to shoulder high health care costs.”

Trump Administration submits legal brief arguing protections for people with pre-existing conditions and health care for families across the country should be struck down

Trump Administration’s position would take away coverage for people covered through Medicaid expansion, the federal and state-based exchanges, and young adults covered through their parents’ plans

Ruling for President Trump would also allow insurance companies to implement lifetime and annual caps on coverage, and offer plans that don’t cover essential health benefits like maternity care, mental health care, or prescription drugs

Washington, D.C.  – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement in response to the Trump Administration submitting its legal brief in the Texas v. Azar case in which it argued that the entire Affordable Care Act should be struck down.

“President Trump’s brief arguing against families’ health care makes the situation perfectly clear: If President Trump wins, families lose. They will lose their health care, they will lose protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and they will lose to insurance companies who will once again have free rein to cover fewer services, implement annual and lifetime caps, deny coverage altogether, and leave patients to shoulder high health care costs. We are not going to stop speaking out and holding President Trump accountable for his reckless sabotage of families’ health care.”

Should the Trump Administration get its way in court, hundreds of millions of people with pre-existing conditions will lose health care protections, and millions of people covered through Medicaid, people covered through the federal and state-based exchanges, and young adults covered by their parents’ plans will lose their health care. Insurance companies would also no longer be required to cover essential health benefits like maternity care, mental health care, and prescription drug costs, could deny coverage or charge higher premiums to people with pre-existing conditions, and they would once again be allowed to implement annual and lifetime caps on coverage—even for people who get insurance through their job.

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