Washington, DC - The Bipartisan Policy Center issued the following statement by Bill Hoagland, BPC senior vice president, and Katherine Hayes, BPC health policy director, regarding the Trump administration’s decision to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to eliminate the Affordable Care Act.

“The late-night filing by the administration to urge the Supreme Court to overturn the Affordable Care Act during this pandemic is unconscionable, as it could cost more than 20 million Americans access to health care insurance and strip away vital protections of their pre-existing conditions.

“At a time when more than 120,000 Americans have lost their lives to the coronavirus, and nearly 2.5 million more people have confirmed infections, this action is irresponsible and severely detrimental to the health and well-being of all Americans.

“Health insurance through the ACA has been especially critical to the millions of people who have recently lost their employee health insurance due to the economic downturn. Americans depend on this law to provide important health care coverage and now the administration is putting their lives in danger by trying to eliminate it.

“BPC strongly believes this health reform law can be improved but shouldn’t be eliminated. A BPC national poll showed that nearly double the number of voters prefer improving the current system over replacing it. We know the public wants improvements to the law that secure greater affordability and sustainability, rather than unworkable disruptions.

“BPC’s Future of Health Care Initiative’s recent report offers a practical proposal for a path forward that is designed to make health care coverage more affordable by lowering costs without adding to the growing public health expenditures. It would help stabilize the individual insurance market, end expensive surprise medical bills, thwart anti-competitive practices in the prescription drug and hospital industries, and accelerate the shift from fee-for-service medicine to value-based care. BPC’s proposal offers policymakers a fiscally responsible alternative to overturning the ACA."

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