August 01, 2019

Van Hollen, Democrats Request Data from Trump Administration on Consequences of Texas V. United States Prevailing

Letter to Azar, Mnuchin Stresses Risk in Upending Health Care System, Need to Understand Ramifications if Obamacare is Gutted

U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md, on Thursday joined a group of Senators in requesting data from the Trump administration to help states and Congress better understand the potential consequences if the Texas v. United States Affordable Care Act (ACA) lawsuit prevails in courts. In a letter to U.S. Department of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, the Senators stressed the dangerous risk in upending the current health care system and the need to understand the ramifications of this lawsuit prevailing and gutting pre-existing condition protections for millions of Americans.

“We are writing with profound concern about the consequences of the Administration’s position that seeks to overturn protections for people with pre-existing conditions, coverage for millions of Americans, and numerous other policies that help keep health care costs down for seniors, low-income families, and millions of others in State of Texas, et al v. USA, et al (No. 19–10011),” the Senators wrote.

The Senators continue: “Upending the current health care system will create an enormous hole in the pocketbooks of the people we serve as well as wreck state budgets; therefore, we ask for data to help states and Congress better understand the potential consequences of the position the Administration is taking in court.”

On July 8, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the Texas v. United States lawsuit to gut the entire ACA. If successful, this lawsuit would jeopardize health care of millions of Americans—including the 522,000 people in Connecticut and 130 million Americans living with pre-existing conditions. Murphy offered a similar amendment to the Lower Health Care Costs Act during the a HELP Committee markup. Murphy also published an op-ed in the Hartford Courant highlighting what’s at stake if this lawsuit prevails and has been asking his Republican colleagues if they support this lawsuit and what their plan is if it prevails. 

U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Robert P. Casey, Jr (D-Pa.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Joe Manchin, III (W.Va.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) joined Van Hollen in sending this letter.

The full letter is available here.