What Losing the ACA Will Mean
The pandemic has exposed many cracks in our systems, and perhaps none so much as the inequity and high cost of healthcare coverage. Too many people lost medical insurance when they lost their jobs due to Covid-19’s impact on the economy.
And now, with the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is in jeopardy. On Nov. 10, the Supreme Court will again deliberate the fate of the landmark, lifesaving ACA. If the law is struck down, tens of millions of Americans – including more than 200,000 here in Connecticut – will lose their healthcare coverage. Even in normal times, to consider depriving our citizens of their healthcare puts an unthinkable burden on all of us; during a pandemic, it is downright unconscionable.
I was honored recently to appear at a press conference with my legislative colleagues highlighting the perils of an ACA repeal. Especially at risk are our young people, who will be booted off their parents’ plan; small business owners who will no longer be able to get coverage through the Small Business Health Options Program; our seniors on Medicare who use Part D for prescription drugs; low-income families who no longer have to meet an “asset” test to qualify for Medicaid; recipients of mental health services and substance abuse disorders who would otherwise not be able to afford care; residents of rural areas where healthcare facilities have been able to remain open because of the ACA’s expansion of Medicaid; women, who tend to higher rates of autoimmune disorders, and, thanks to the ACA, now have free birth control, mammogram coverage, and no longer pay higher premiums than men; and anyone with a pre-existing condition, which now includes Covid-19.
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