John,
I am writing to update you on a major legal ruling that could have dangerous consequences for our health care.
IN THIS EMAIL:
I. The Ruling
II. What it means for Montana’s 2020 Attorney General Race
Earlier this month, on the same day that Congress voted to impeach President Trump, a federal appeals court quietly issued a decision holding that a part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is unconstitutional: the law’s requirement that Americans have health insurance.
I. The Ruling
The ruling was a huge success for the Trump Administration and Republican Attorneys General who have been working for years to undermine the Affordable Care Act. That’s because if they get their way, the entire ACA will go down--something even Republicans in Congress couldn’t accomplish.
What does the ruling mean for you?
In the short term, very little--if Democrats do their jobs right. Democratic Attorneys General have vowed to appeal the case to the United States Supreme Court. While further proceedings are pending, there are no changes to the ACA. Its life saving provisions are still in place and the over 400,000 Montanans living with a pre-existing condition won’t be denied coverage. Hardworking Montanans on Medicaid expansion will also continue to have access to healthcare.
But in the long-term, this case is dangerous and could result in the entire ACA being repealed. If Democrats aren’t successful in their appeal, the case will return to a lower court to decide how much of the ACA to gut. The case plays with fire. And, legally, it’s a huge stretch.
Whether the entire ACA goes down depends on this question: did Congress want the ACA to continue even if there weren’t a requirement to buy insurance? As many have pointed out, Congress already answered this question in 2017 when it reduced penalties for not having health insurance to $0 while keeping the rest of the law.
But here we are. Courts will take their best guess about what Congress “would do” when Congress has already answered that exact question. It’s a strange situation, highlighting the lengths that Republican Attorneys General will go to to undermine healthcare.
Republican Attorneys General have spent years trying to pick this fight--gathering kindling underneath the key health care law that protects millions. If they’re ultimately successful in striking down the entire ACA, Montanans' healthcare will get much worse. Insurance companies will again have the power to deny people with pre-existing conditions or charge Montanans more because they are younger, older, or because they are a woman.
II. What does this mean for Montana’s 2020 Attorney General Race?
This is why we need an Attorney General who works for us. Our current Attorney General supports the court’s ruling that the individual mandate is unconstitutional. One of the leading candidates trying to replace him has made his entire campaign about undermining healthcare.
The Attorney General’s job is to fight for us--to put Montanans first. That’s a commitment that means going to court, taking on the big fights, to make our lives better. Unfortunately, our own Attorney General applauded this ruling that puts so much at stake. If Republicans keep this seat in 2020, it could get even worse.
Political games like this have no interest to me. I’m running because I’m an advocate deeply committed to the work our Attorney General should be doing.
I’ve already stood up both to President Trump and our Republican Attorney General in the courtroom and won. I know we can do this. But right now I need your help.
Will you consider donating to support our campaign before the 12/31 year-end deadline?
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