Republicans and the ACA

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By Michael Spragins, Stafford County Democratic Committee Issues Committee Chair

As COVID-19 cases reach new daily highs in places like Arizona, Texas and Florida it is worth reminding ourselves that the White House and the Republican party are still trying to completely eliminate the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In the midst of a pandemic, Republicans are continuing the case at the Supreme Court that would invalidate the ACA.

To remind you, this case was brought initially by a number of Republican Attorneys General at the state level some time ago. The federal Department of Justice joined the suit in favor of destroying the ACA. They argued that Congress, by eliminating the mandate for insurance coverage in the 2017 Republican tax bill, intended for the entire law to be unconstitutional. The case received a favorable hearing before a conservative District Court judge, the Fifth Circuit, a notably conservative circuit in the South, agreed. Now we are at the Supreme Court, which will hear the case in the fall. The federal government filed their brief and basically argued that it was the will of Congress that the ACA be eliminated entirely. That means that every Republican who voted for the tax bill had in mind the additional goal of eliminating the ACA.

If the ACA is destroyed the Republicans have no plan to replace it. Millions will be left without medical insurance coverage in the middle of a worldwide pandemic that is striking the United States with particular severity due to the failure of President Trump and Republican governors to heed warnings about re-opening businesses too soon and their failure to mandate the wearing of masks and social distancing.

If you are unlucky enough to need hospitalization with the novel Coronavirus and need time in an ICU the expense will be staggering. Imagine facing that without any insurance at all. It is likely that the uninsured will never seek medical care for fear of the expense, and they will be more likely to die or spread the virus unwittingly.

Of the many deadly failures of this Republican president and Republicans in Congress and in statehouses as they have faced the pandemic, this may be the deadliest of all. Republicans simply don’t care about your health or whether you live or die. Remember this when it is time to vote.

This is a post by a member of the Stafford County Democratic Committee. This post does not necessarily reflect the views of the Stafford County Democratic Committee, the Democratic Party of Virginia, or the Democratic Party of America.

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