Obamacare Lawsuit Threatens Arizonans' Health Care
Attorneys general, including Arizona’s Mark Brnovich, will be responsible for millions of Americans losing access to affordable health-care coverage if a lawsuit they filed is successful later this fall.
These politicians used state funded offices to argue before a Texas judge that when congressional Republicans passed their sweeping tax bill last year, they also made the entire Affordable Care Act unconstitutional by removing key mandates covering pre-existing conditions.
To them, the goal is simple: take away health-care protections and coverage for millions of Americans.
If they are successful, more than 1 million Arizonans with a preexisting condition could be denied health care when they lose protections from discrimination. If they are successful, lower prescription drug prices for seniors on Medicare will disappear; and the right for parents to keep their young adult children on their insurance plans will no longer be guaranteed. Hundreds of thousands of people in our state are likely to lose their health-care coverage altogether.
While there is more work elected officials could do to reduce the costs of premiums under the Affordable Care Act, it’s reckless for elected leaders, like Brnovich, to play politics with the health care of the people they were elected to serve.
In between my days as an assistant attorney general and today, I served as a health policy advisor to Governor Janet Napolitano. I traveled across our state to meet Arizonans who shared their health-care struggles. The stories I heard then are similar to the worries I hear now during my campaign to become Arizona’s next attorney general.
I’ve spoken with small business owners who are ready to grow, but are concerned about health-care costs; self-employed Arizonans who have children with a serious health issues; new retirees not yet eligible for Medicare; and young people.
These are the families and individuals who are going to be left behind in the chaos that will follow this lawsuit, if it is successful.
Consider that medical bills continue to be the number one reason for bankruptcies in our country. Remember that before the Affordable Care Act became law, 62 percent of individual health plans lacked coverage for maternity care.
By some projections, our state could lose as much as $42 billion in federal funds as a result of this lawsuit, resulting in more uncompensated care for Arizona’s hospitals and in the loss of jobs in the health-care sector.
Congress couldn’t pass its repeal of health-care protections in part because one of Arizona’s own legendary members of the U.S. Senate bucked his party to put people first.
This lawsuit is another reckless version of repeal without replace. There is no back-up plan should the Affordable Care Act be repealed. How will Arizonans on the losing end access health care?
As we await a decision, I make the commitment that, if I reach office before it’s too late, I will remove Arizona from this dangerous and irresponsible lawsuit.
No matter the outcome, I will enforce and strengthen laws that protect the rights of Arizonans to access health-care services, including the many who have preexisting health conditions. That’s why I am running for attorney general: to fight for Arizonans, not against them.
January Contreras is a former county and state prosecutor, and former advisor to Governor and Secretary Janet Napolitano. January is running to serve as Arizona’s next attorney general.
