Public health experts and professionals: Destroying the Affordable Care Act in the middle of a pandemic means “those who get sick will have to choose between their health and financial ruin”
Washington, D.C. — Amidst a global health pandemic that is sickening millions of Americans and has killed more than 120,000, nearly 800 public health experts and professionals from across the United States today wrote to President Donald Trump to urge the administration to drop its support of California v. Texas, a lawsuit pending before the Supreme Court that could tear health care away from tens of millions of Americans.
The signatories underscored the importance of the coverage afforded by the ACA in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and economic recession. “We write as public health experts and professionals who are gravely concerned about the effects this lawsuit would have, if successful, during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, still on the rise in many states across the U.S., making prospects for control of the pandemic unlikely in the short-term,” the public health experts and professionals wrote. “An estimated 20 million people would lose coverage if the ACA is repealed by legislation or overturned by court order. However, in the last few months, millions more Americans have lost their jobs and employer coverage, and many of these people are now eligible for ACA coverage and can rely on this critical safety net.”
The letter emphasizes the many short- and long-term effects of the coronavirus as a key reason for the Trump administration to end its efforts to take health care away from the American people. “This health coverage is even more vital during a pandemic … if individuals who are uninsured believe that they will incur significant financial costs by engaging with their healthcare professionals, they may delay or forgo testing for the virus for themselves and their families, as well as needed medical care if they get seriously ill,” the experts and professionals continued. “Being uninsured in this context may make the difference between life and death, not just in the short-term but for years as the lingering effects of SARS-CoV2 continue in our communities.”
The signatories concludes by urging the Trump administration to end its support of California v. Texas and instead defend the ACA. Terminating the ACA, as Trump has said he wants to do, “would strip health coverage from millions of people in the midst of a once-in-a-century pandemic, driving people away from the healthcare and public health systems that are key to containing SARS-CoV2. Should you succeed, it will mean that fewer people will get tested, more will spread the virus; those who get sick will have to choose between their health and financial ruin; and more people will die.”
Click here to read the letter and list of signatories.
For more information or to speak to an expert, contact Colin Seeberger at [email protected].