The Supreme Court will decide the fate of the ACA for the third time, potentially invalidating the law
Trump’s attacks on the ACA and inability to provide his own plan could leave more than 200,000 New Mexicans without coverage
The Supreme Court of the United States announced today that they would review a U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruling that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is unconstitutional since the passage of the GOP tax bill repealed the individual mandate. This decision is expected to be made in early 2021, and it could potentially invalidate the ACA, leaving 226,000 New Mexicans without access to health care coverage.
Since taking office, Donald Trump has repeatedly broken his promises on health care, and his attacks on the ACA have led directly to this lawsuit. On the campaign trail, Donald Trump promised that “Donald Trump and Republicans will protect patients with pre-existing conditions.” When this lawsuit began in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, however, the Trump administration broke with tradition and refused to defend the ACA, allowing the courts to continue to dismantle the law. This attack on the ACA could leave 843,500 New Mexicans with pre-existing conditions subject to higher costs and lost coverage.
If this law is repealed, New Mexicans will feel it directly. Despite Trump’s promise to “stop the premium hikes in New Mexico and all over the country,” his attacks on the ACA have already caused New Mexican families to pay an average of $1,550 more in health care premiums.
While New Mexico has moved toward expanding access to health care under the leadership of Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and our Democratic-led state legislature, the Trump administration has repeatedly undermined those efforts. Most recently the Trump administration proposed a plan that would cut Medicaid by allowing block grants in a move that specifically targets states like New Mexico, who have expanded Medicaid under the ACA.
DPNM Chair Marg Elliston released the following statement regarding the SCOTUS taking up a lawsuit that could decided the fate of the ACA:
“Now that the future of the Affordable Care Act is once again uncertain, the president’s broken promises are going to have more of an impact than ever. Since day one, Donald Trump has been attempting to dismantle the ACA without offering any solution for the hundreds of thousands of New Mexicans who rely on this law for health care coverage. We cannot afford another four years of reckless attacks on our health care, and that’s exactly why New Mexicans are excited to go to the polls in November and elect a president who understands that health care is a human right.”
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