WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) led a letter with 26 Members calling on the Department of Justice to end its support of lawsuits aiming to strike down the protections of the Affordable Care Act. If successful, the Republican-led lawsuits would jeopardize the healthcare of millions, especially those with pre-existing conditions.

In the letter, the Members write:

During your 2019 State of the Union Address, you said, “The next major priority for me, and for all of us, should be to lower the cost of healthcare and prescription drugs — and to protect patients with pre-existing conditions.” We strongly agree with these goals. Unfortunately, your remarks to the American people are now directly contradicted by the recent actions taken by your Administration to gut protections for people with pre-existing conditions and the entire Affordable Care Act.

The decision to rescind all the protections afforded by this landmark legislation would eliminate healthcare for millions of people, cause mass disruption across the U.S. healthcare system, and most importantly take away critical healthcare protections. You made repeated promises to protect Americans with pre-existing conditions, but the recent actions of your Administration show that you are reneging on your promises. Make no mistake: if the Texas decision is upheld, your Administration will be directly responsible for gutting pre-existing conditions coverage, reversing the ban on lifetime and annual coverage limits, and ripping healthcare away from millions of Americans.

We request that you immediately direct the Department of Justice to reverse course and stop requesting that courts strike down the law that protects pre-existing conditions coverage. Thank you for your consideration.

READ THE FULL TEXT OF THE LETTER HERE

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