Casey defends Affordable Care Act
On the same day a federal appeals court panel in New Orleans considered whether a Texas judge was correct in ruling that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey issued a ringing defense of the law Tuesday, arguing that if it is striken, thousands of Pennsylvanians would lose health care coverage.
Noting that the ongoing legal skirmishing has not gotten the same attention as the failed repeal efforts by Congress in 2017, Casey said it鈥檚 鈥渆very bit as consequential as repeal, yet few Americans are aware of it.鈥�
The Trump administration has gotten behind the ruling by the judge, which stated that the whole law is unconstitutional due to its mandate that Americans must purchase health insurance. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the law, also known as 鈥淥bamacare,鈥� in 2012. If the federal appeals court agrees with the judge鈥檚 ruling, it will likely make its way back to the high court next year.
鈥淩ipping away care is what this lawsuit is about,鈥� Casey said. He criticized Republicans for not having outlined a replacement plan if the Affordable Care Act falls, and said their efforts were 鈥渢otally irresponsible.鈥�
Casey made his comments in a conference call along with Antoinette Kraus, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Health Access Network, an advocacy group dedicated to expanding health care coverage in the commonwealth. The group contends that if the Affordable Care Act is taken off the books, more than 800,000 Pennsylvania residents would lose coverage, including 89,000 young adults who get coverage through their parents鈥� plans until age 26. The group also asserts that an additional 800,000 Pennsylvanians who gained health care coverage through the Affordable Care Act鈥檚 Medicaid expansion would lose it, including residents struggling with opioid addiction. Rural hospitals in the state, many of which are struggling, would lose close to $2 billion if Medicaid coverage is retracted.
鈥淭his impacts all of us,鈥� Kraus said. 鈥淭oo much is at stake.鈥�
While Casey didn鈥檛 hold his fire when it came to his Republican colleagues on Capitol Hill, he also criticized his fellow Democrats, saying they have not done enough to stop efforts to undercut the Affordable Care Act. While Casey was mostly unsparing in his criticism of Republicans throughout the lunchtime conference call, he did say that he would work with members of the GOP if they worked to lower prescription drug costs and improve the nine-year-old Affordable Care Act.
鈥淚鈥檓 a reasonable person, but I get unreasonable when they allow this to happen,鈥� he said.