WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) on Tuesday joined a resolution led by U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.Va), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) to defend the constitutionality of protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions after U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor declared the Affordable Care Act in its entirety unconstitutional in Texas v. United States.

Last year, 18 state attorneys general, led by Texas, sued the federal government arguing that pre-existing protections in the Affordable Care Act are unconstitutional. The Trump administration took the unprecedented step to side with the partisan lawsuit. Senate Democrats will call on Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to hold a vote on the resolution following the passage of it last week in the U.S. House of Representatives. If the decision stands, 20 million Americans will be left without the health insurance they rely on, and the 133 million Americans with pre-existing conditions will be at risk of losing of losing their access to health insurance and millions of families will see health care costs rise. 

“The Republicans never had a plan to replace the Affordable Care Act despite campaigning on it for eight years. They knew their position wasn’t popular with voters, so they took it to the courts. With one judge’s partisan ruling, our health care system teeters on the edge of spiraling into chaos. Congress needs to pass this resolution so we can make sure all Americans, especially those with pre-existing conditions have access to quality, affordable health care,” said Murphy.

“Americans have no interest in returning to the days where health insurance companies routinely denied coverage and discriminated against people with pre-existing conditions. Let’s be clear about what these pre-existing conditions are—we’re talking about cancer survivors, pregnant women, and chronic and common conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure. The GOP lawsuit is a grave threat to our healthcare system and we must do all we can to defend access to care and protect the health and lives of American families,” said Blumenthal.

Joining the senators in co-sponsoring this resolution are U.S. Senators Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Angus King (I-Maine), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Pat Leahy (D-Vt.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Doug Jones (D-Ala.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), and Ben Cardin (D-Md.).

 

###