WISCONSIN – Today, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, cancer survivor Renee Gasch, and emergency room physician Chris Kapsner joined Protect Our Care Wisconsin to highlight the growing threat to health care coverage as Republican’s rush to fill the Supreme Court vacancy. On November 10, one week after the election, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in California v. Texas, the lawsuit led by the Trump administration and 18 Republican state Attorneys General to dismantle the Affordable Care Act.
For years, Republicans have attempted to sabotage and destroy the ACA. Now, they are trying to stack the Supreme Court with the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, a judge who has repeatedly opposed the ACA. If Republicans succeed, they threaten to destroy access to health care for millions of Americans and the 1 in 5 Wisconsinites with a pre-existing condition. Speakers highlighted the dire emergency created by the Trump administration and Republicans pushing to repeal the ACA when Wisconsinites need it the most.
Kaul, who led the effort to remove Wisconsin from the lawsuit pending before the Supreme Court, noted the stark difference of how Republicans in Wisconsin and Washington prioritize the challenges before them. “When it comes to trying to entrench political power, we have seen a rush to action,” said Kaul. “But when it comes to fighting for people’s health insurance coverage, we have seen very little effort from our state legislature or from Republicans in the majority in the Senate.”
Gasch, a resident of De Pere, purchases health insurance through the Obamacare exchange. She has completed one round of treatment for thyroid cancer, yet now faces the added stress of worrying what will happen should Judge Coney Barrett be seated on the high court and rule against the ACA, stating, “Before i was just worried about dying, now I’m worried I’m going to bankrupt my family first.”
Emergency Room Physician Chris Kapsner spoke directly to the impact the ACA has had for those with pre-existing conditions and the failure of Republicans to offer an alternative to the ACA in the 10+ years since its passage. Kapsner noted, “High blood pressure, diabetes, you fell out of a deer stand, you have cancer, a history of addiction. All of these things are pre-existing conditions.” It is estimated that 1 in every 5 WisconSinites has a pre-existing condition.
In closing, Kapsner noted the fallacy of the ‘repeal & replace’ argument from President Trump and Republicans – “Instead of making the Affordable Care Act better, they just want to tear it apart, and there is nothing to replace it with.”
You can watch a recording of the event here.
