Editorial: ACA's pre-existing conditions protections at risk
It took a groundswell of public opinion to help persuade three Republican senators to vote with Democrats a year ago to defeat the attempt by the GOP and the Trump administration to repeal the Affordable Care Act, still widely known as Obamacare.
Since then, the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress and some states have taken a less-public track to undermine and dismantle the 2010 law and recently have moved to end what may be the law’s single-most popular provision, one that affects millions of Americans, whether they get their coverage through the ACA, through their employer or purchased on their own.
Since passage of the Affordable Care Act, insurers have been prevented from denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions or charging higher premiums because of those maladies, such as asthma, diabetes, cancer, multiple sclerosis and many others.
Unable to repeal Obamacare in Congress, the Trump administration and Republicans have instead worked to remove its underpinnings in hope of its collapse, including withholding market stabilizing and cost-sharing payments to insurance companies that allow insurance to be provided to a range of customers, shortening the ACA’s open enrollment period and slashing support for education and outreach to encourage and assist enrollment.
So far, the ACA has not obliged. During last year’s open enrollment period, more than 11.8 million signed up for health plans through the ACA, a 3 percent decrease from the year before but not the drop many had expected.
But removal of the ACA’s protections for pre-existing conditions could be the final blow and one that would return Americans to ever-spiraling health care costs and leave millions again without coverage.
Texas and 19 other states have filed suit against the federal government, claiming that the ACA’s individual mandate requiring people to obtain health insurance is now unconstitutional, following Congress’ decision to end the tax penalty for those who do not have health insurance.
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/editorial-acas-pre-existing-conditions-protections-at-risk/?utm_source=DAILY+HERALD&utm_campaign=7dd776b0c2-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d81d073bb4-7dd776b0c2-228635337
What the fuck is wrong with these people? 
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