In Two Weeks, Supreme Court Will Hear Arguments to “Terminate” Affordable Care Act

Two weeks from today, President Trump will begin the next step in his effort to strike down the Affordable Act, fulfilling a promise he made from the very beginning of his campaign and staying the course despite a global pandemic that has taken the lives of more than 225,000 Americans. Just one week after the election, the GOP-stacked Supreme Court will hear Trump’s lawsuit to invalidate the entire law, where his legal team will argue that Senator Susan Collins “knowingly voted to destroy the health care law.” 

Ever since Trump took office, he’s repeatedly attempted to sabotage Mainers’ health care by trying to overturn the Affordable Care Act without any plan to replace it. If Trump and his Republican allies are successful in eliminating the Affordable Care Act, Maine’s uninsured rate will triple––the nation’s highest increase––kicking off 105,000 Mainers from their health insurance, and risks raising out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for many older Mainers on Medicare. 

Yet despite Trump repeatedly promising for four years to produce a superior health care plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, Senator Collins has admitted that “there is not a comprehensive plan” to replace the health care law if the Republican lawsuit succeeds, meaning the health care system will have no safety net. At last week’s debate, Trump reaffirmed that his only plan is to “terminate” the Affordable Care Act, echoing comments from his interview with 60 Minutes that “it will be so good” if the Supreme Court ends it.

“In November, our health care will be on the docket, but first it’s on the ballot,” said Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Lisa Roberts. “Donald Trump has made it clear that his only plan is to terminate the Affordable Care Act and take away health care from Mainers when we need it most. Next Tuesday, Mainers are going to decisively reject this president and the Senator who put their health care at risk. We’re ready to elect new leaders who actually care about ensuring all Americans have access to quality, affordable health care: Joe Biden and Sara Gideon.”

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