Today, the Michigan Democratic Party slammed attacks on Michiganders’ health care by Donald Trump, Senate Republicans, and Republicans up and down the ballot. The presser came ahead of the VP debate and nearly 30 days before the Supreme Court hears the latest case threatening the ACA.
This November, health care is on the ballot. Donald Trump and Senate Republicans have relentlessly attacked protections for 1.7 million Michiganders with a pre-existing condition and health care for 827,000 with their attempts to gut the ACA. Now, after failing in Congress and in multiple lawsuits, Trump and the Republican party are attempting to jam through a Supreme Court nominee to continue their attacks and strike down the critical law. Recent polling from the Detroit News shows that nearly 60% of Michiganders support the Supreme Court upholding the ACA.
“Republicans have spent the last 10 years trying to dismantle health care and now they’re leading a lawsuit which will be heard by the Supreme Court just a week after the election,” said Senator Debbie Stabenow. “Now more than ever, health care is on the ballot. We need to elect Vice President Biden, Senator Peters, and Democrats up and down the ballot to ensure we can continue to fight for affordable health care and protections for 1.7 million Michiganders with pre-existing conditions – not Republicans who will continue their crusade against our health care.”
“President Trump and Senate Republicans are breathlessly racing to install a justice on the Supreme Court in order to strike down the Affordable Care Act,” said Congressman Dan Kildee. “Doing that would strike down protections for pre-existing conditions, including for the 7.5 million Americans already infected by the coronavirus. When it comes to tax breaks for the wealthy and jamming through Supreme Court justices to take away our health care, Trump is all on board. When it comes to meeting the needs of the American people, he rejects critical support. Thankfully, the upcoming election gives us an opportunity to make our voices heard and I believe voters will respond by electing Joe Biden, re-electing Gary Peters, and voting for Democrats up and down the ballot.”
“The Trump administration’s sabotage of our health care system in the middle of a pandemic is making doctors’ jobs more difficult and repealing the ACA will have life and death consequences for my patients,” said Dr. Farhan Bhatti. “The ACA, Medicaid, and Medicare remain under assault by President Trump, John James, and their Republican allies. If these attacks are successful and patients lose their coverage, safety net clinics like mine will find it difficult to keep our doors open – and there’s no replacement plan that exists if the Republican-led lawsuit is successful in overturning the health care law at the Supreme Court.”
“I’ve been living with diabetes for 23 years, and I have personally seen the price of my insulin skyrocket,” said patient advocate Sarah Stark. “While this is happening, leaders in this country have been working hard to strip us of our very basic protections. Protections for patients with pre-existing conditions is the bare minimum, but instead of fighting for the solutions we need during this global pandemic, we have to come and plead to not have basic rights for sick and disabled people stripped from us. It’s dehumanizing to see elected officials attempt to strip these protections away, especially as COVID continues to devastate immunocompromised, disabled, and elderly communities.”
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