A new Orlando Sentinel report emphasized the devastating and ruinous future in store for nearly two million Floridians if Donald Trump and the Republican Party succeed in their mission to overturn the Affordable Care Act. Overturning the ACA would leave millions with an inability to afford insurance and would gut protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions. This could be disastrous for Americans for decades to come, as COVID-19 is a pre-existing condition.
Donald Trump’s callous quest to strip away healthcare from millions of Floridians without having a comprehensive healthcare policy to replace it — in the midst of an uncontrolled pandemic, nonetheless — is yet another example of his empty promises and utter lack of commitment to the American people.
Orlando Sentinel: Obamacare lawsuit threatens health care coverage for 2 million Floridians, and maybe millions more
By Gray Rohrer | October 28, 2020
KEY EXCERPTS:
- “No matter who wins the presidential election, health care coverage for nearly 2 million Floridians will be in jeopardy if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the Affordable Care Act. That’s how many state residents bought health plans through the federal exchanges, most of whom receive federal subsidies they’d be in danger of losing if the ACA were eliminated. The increased cost could price them out of the coverage.”
- “And other provisions protecting those with pre-existing conditions and young adults who now can stay on their parents’ policies would disappear, affecting potentially millions more.”
- “Yet Trump wants the ACA, passed in 2010 and signed into law by President Obama and often known as Obamacare, to be eliminated, even though he doesn’t have a plan to replace it. Republicans failed to pass a replacement measure in 2017, but even that would have eroded protections for pre-existing conditions, critics contended.”
- “One estimate from the left-leaning Center for American Progress holds that 8.4 million Floridians have pre-existing conditions that would no longer be protected if the ACA were struck down.”
- “‘Make no mistake about it, access to quality, affordable health care is on the ballot from the top of the ticket down to the Florida Legislature,’ [Patricia] Sigman [Democrat running for Florida SD-9] said in a released statement.”
- “‘An increase in uninsured people would lead to a rise in uncompensated care, pushing premiums up for those with coverage,’ [Anne Swerlick, senior policy analyst and attorney with the Florida Policy Institute] said.”
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