What It Could Mean for Millions of Americans if Republicans Succeed in Abolishing the Affordable Care Act

NJ Consumer Health Coalition Urges Justices to Put Partisan Politics Aside and Uphold the Law

As the Supreme Court hears arguments in California v. Texas to determine the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, members of New Jersey’s consumer coalition, NJ for Health Care, issued the following statement:

“Despite the best efforts of our state to preserve ACA protections, a decision to declare the ACA unconstitutional would obliterate coverage for more than 800,000 of New Jersey families and put our health care system into an economic freefall,” said Maura Collinsgru, New Jersey Citizen Action Health Care Program Director. “These families and millions more across American would lose coverage and protections leaving them even more vulnerable to the impacts of COVID.  Overnight the significant progress we’ve made to increase access to health care, improve health outcomes and decrease the number of uninsured residents especially within communities of color would be reversed.”

Renee Steinhagen, Executive Director of NJ Appleseed said, “Let us be clear. Though case precedents and the opinion of legal experts across the political spectrum would lead one to conclude that this case has no merit, this politicized Supreme Court could refuse to uphold the ACA; thus, harming the 20 million people who would lose their coverage, and the 135 million more who would lose their pre-existing condition protections.”

That decision would have dire consequences for families like that of Lauren Agoratis, Family Voices of NJ State Coordinator @SPAN State Coordinator whose daughter has a range of disabilities and special health care needs due to multiple conditions including Autism. “When she was young, prior to the Affordable Care Act, we almost lost our home due to medical debt and unpaid leave. Since that time, she has undergone multiple life-saving procedures. Because of the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid we have access to the quality care our daughter needs to survive. If not for the Affordable Care Act, we could have struggled to get health insurance because of her pre-existing conditions, and we could have exhausted her annual as well as lifetime cap when she was just a young child. Without the ACA, her healthcare coverage could also have been rescinded. The Affordable Care Act is ESSENTIAL for our child and all children and youth with special healthcare needs.”

“The Affordable Care Act has been critical for our family,” said Westampton resident Michele Tyler, who also works with other families in her role as a Parent Specialist for SPAN. “Because we are able to cover my daughter (who is underemployed) on my health insurance until she is 26, she is able to access her doctor and the mental health supports that she needs to be able to work and progress in her mental health journey.”

“The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has provided a crucial lifeline to hundreds of thousands of New Jersey residents who rely on it for affordable health care,” said Brittany Holom-Trundy, Ph.D., Senior Policy Analyst at New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP). “Overturning this landmark law during a global pandemic would deprive New Jerseyans of coverage when they need it most, endangering public health for the entire state. Without the ACA, our uninsured rate would double, and our families and neighborhoods would be unprotected and exposed to the devastation of COVID-19.”

The Supreme Court must uphold the ACA as the law of the land and put aside partisan politics to act as a neutral arbiter in this case, for the sake of our democracy and our health. The justices must prioritize sound legal judgement and the wellbeing of the nation over President Trump’s anti-health care legacy.”

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NJ For Health Care, New Jersey’s consumer health coalition, is made up of a broad-based alliance of health care, consumer, faith-based, labor, civil rights and social justice organizations working to bring guaranteed, high quality, affordable health care to all New Jersey residents.