10.16.20

Durbin Joins Illinoisans To Highlight What Is At Stake If The ACA Is Struck Down By The Supreme Court

CHICAGO – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) held a news conference at the International Union of Operating Engineers to discuss the Supreme Court nomination and what is at stake if the Affordable Care Act (ACA) were to be struck down. Durbin was joined by two Illinoisans with pre-existing conditions who shared their stories highlighting the importance of the protections provided by the ACA.

“We are in the middle of a deadly pandemic that has killed more than 217,000 Americans and infected more than 7.9 million. And we are less than one month away from the Supreme Court hearing a case in which the Trump Administration and Republicans are asking the Court to strike down the entire Affordable Care Act,” said Durbin. “I worry about returning to the dark days when insurance companies charged more, denied coverage, imposed lifetime limits, excluded basic benefits from plans, and prohibited young adults under the age of 26 from staying on their parent’s coverage.  This is what is at stake with this Supreme Court nomination.”

One week after Election Day, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in California v. Texas, which will determine the fate of the ACA. At stake is health care coverage for 600,000 Illinoisans, and protections for the five million Illinoisans with pre-existing conditions. An estimated 100 million Americans would lose protections for pre-existing conditions if the ACA is eliminated, including the nearly eight million Americans—and 322,000 Illinoisans—who have been diagnosed with COVID-19.  President Trump has tweeted that it would be a “big win” if the ACA were “terminated in the Supreme Court” and his nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, has criticized previous Supreme Court decisions upholding the constitutionality of the law. 

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