Murray: Ruling in Republicans’ Partisan Lawsuit Puts Health Care and Protections for Millions on “Completely Avoidable, Catastrophic Crash Course”

Decision leaves health care and protections for millions uncertain as case is returned to judge who previously ruled to strike down the entire Affordable Care Act

Murray: “Today Republicans are closer to getting the health care plan they wanted, in the form of a court ruling that could leave millions of people without the coverage and protections they rely on.”

Murray: “For months, Democrats have urged President Trump and Republicans to listen to patients and drop this partisan and deeply harmful attack on families’ health care—and we’re not going to let up until they do.”

Washington D.C.—Today, Senator Murray, ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement in response to the Fifth Circuit decision in Texas v. U.S., which ruled the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) unconstitutional, and remanded the case back to the district court, where Judge Reed O’Connor, who previously ruled the entire ACA should be struck down, will decide the fate of protections for people with pre-existing conditions, Medicaid expansion, and more.

“Today Republicans are closer to getting the health care plan they wanted, in the form of a court ruling that could leave millions of people without the coverage and protections they rely on. While families still have their coverage and should still seek the care they need, this ruling puts health care in our country on a completely avoidable, catastrophic crash course—and unfortunately, that is exactly the outcome President Trump and Republicans have been fighting for.

“Republicans have made their health care vision clear: health care stripped away from people covered by the exchanges or Medicaid expansion; young adults kicked off their parents’ plans; protections for people with pre-existing conditions scrapped; the return of annual and lifetime caps on patients’ benefits; the end of caps on how much patients are stuck paying out of pocket; and no more essential health benefits that make sure plans cover prescription drug costs, maternal care, mental health care, emergency care, and more.

“For months, Democrats have urged President Trump and Republicans to listen to patients and drop this partisan and deeply harmful attack on families’ health care—and we’re not going to let up until they do.”

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