U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL14) released the following statement after the Trump administration filed a legal memo calling for a complete invalidation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the Texas v. United States health care lawsuit before the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, endangering the health of Americans across the nation:

“If the Trump administration prevails in striking down the entire Affordable Care Act, it will eliminate health care for millions of Americans and cause chaos for our neighbors who rely on Medicare and Medicaid for their health care.  In addition to eliminating the law that prohibits discrimination in health coverage for people with preexisting conditions, President Trump has declared an all-out war on the health care of American families.

“The ACA benefits all Americans – it ended discrimination against family and community members with preexisting health conditions like asthma, diabetes, cancer, mental illness and substance abuse, allowed children to stay on parents’ plans until age 26 and ended lifetime insurance caps and improved Medicare among other great consumer protections.  President Trump and Republicans in Congress who support destroying the ACA have turned to the courts now after we banded together to stop their years-long repeal effort in the Congress.  Despite big talk to the contrary in the last election, they are trying to take away every last benefit and protection the ACA provides.

“I will continue to stand up for my Tampa neighbors, especially my neighbors with preexisting conditions, and work with my Democratic colleagues to deliver lower health costs and prescription drug prices.  Instead of ripping affordable coverage away, Republicans and the President should work with us to lower premiums, copayments and drug costs.”

U.S. Rep. Castor has worked tirelessly to safeguard Americans’ health in response to the continued sabotage of affordable, quality health care and protections for Americans with preexisting conditions by President Trump and Republicans in Congress.  Castor serves on the powerful U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee, which has oversight of health care policy, and she has authored legislation that would halt the Trump administration’s attack on the ACA – a bill that halts rules that allow insurance company to sell sub-par junk health insurance plans.  Junk plans raise health care prices and endanger the health of working families and our entire community.  She has also introduced legislation to ensure resources for Health Care Navigators as they work to sign our neighbors up for health care plans that work best for them, which in turn lower prices for all Americans, and she is a cosponsor of the just introduced Protecting Preexisting Conditions & Making Health Care More Affordable Act which would strengthen protections for people with preexisting conditions and lower health costs for families.  Castor also recently led her colleagues in the Florida Democratic Congressional Delegation in calling on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to expand Medicaid in our state.  Florida leads the nation in the number of citizens who have coverage in the HealthCare.gov marketplace – over 1.8 million.

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