© 2024 KRWG
News that Matters.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Haaland Condemns Trump Administration’s Attacks on Affordable Care Act Protections

Commentary: Congresswoman Deb Haaland condemned the Trump Administration’s attacks on New Mexicans’ health care by voting to pass H.Res. 271, a resolution condemning the Trump Administration’s participation in the Texas v. U.S. health care lawsuit seeking to strike down protections for people with pre-existing conditions and the entirety of the Affordable Care Act, and calling on the Department of Justice to reverse its position in the case.

“Every single New Mexican deserves access to affordable health care, but this Administration continues its efforts to take away health care from our families. They can’t have it both ways -- Republicans claim to protect people with pre-existing conditions while they’re busy arguing in federal court that those protections should be destroyed,” said Congresswoman Deb Haaland. “While this administration works to strip health care away, I’m working to pass Medicare for All which will lower health costs, so no one has to break the bank to see a doctor.”

The resolution adopted today states that “the actions taken by the Trump Administration seeking the invalidation of the ACA’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and later the invalidation of the entire ACA, are an unacceptable assault on the health care of the American people,” and that the Justice Department should “cease any and all efforts to destroy Americans’ access to affordable health care; and reverse its position in Texas v. United States.”

On March 25, the Trump Administration expanded the scope of its attack on the health law, asking the court in Texas v. U.S. not only to strike down protections for people with pre-existing conditions, but to eliminate every provision of the ACA. In January, House Democrats voted to authorize the counsel of the House of Representatives to throw its full legal weight against the suit.

Since its full implementation in 2014, the ACA has provided critical protections for the 130 million people in the U.S. with pre-existing conditions, including the 843,500 New Mexicans

with pre-existing conditions. If the courts agree with the Trump Administration’s position, the following provisions would be struck down:

  • Protections for people with pre-existing conditions;
  • The ban on lifetime and annual limits on health coverage;
  • The Medicaid expansion covering 15 million Americans;
  • Health insurance affordability tax credits assisting 9 million Americans;
  • Bans on discriminatory insurance practices that force women to pay more for coverage;
  • Young adults’ ability to remain on their parents’ insurance until age 26, and more.