WISCONSIN — On Tuesday, as the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Trump administration’s lawsuit to eliminate the Affordable Care Act, Governor Tony Evers joined Protect Our Care Wisconsin, providers, and health care advocates to discuss how the lawsuit to eliminate the Affordable Care Act would devastate Wisconsinites, particularly as COVID-19 continues to spread across the state and around the country.

In a piece in the Wisconsin Examiner, Erik Gunn writes that Governor Tony Evers called on the Supreme Court to consider the dire consequences of overturning the Affordable Care Act in the middle of a public health emergency, particularly for the millions of Wisconsinites, like Governor Evers himself, who have pre-existing conditions.

“More than 2.4 million Wisconsin residents — including himself — have preexisting health conditions and need the guarantee that the ACA provides that they won’t be denied coverage as a result, Evers said — “especially those who have survived COVID-19 and are suffering longer-term health consequences.”

Governor Evers and others on the call pointed out that while Trump and Republicans aggressively work to eliminate the Affordable Care Act, they have yet to present an alternative health care plan of their own, despite repeated claims that such a plan was forthcoming. Jonathan Sadowski of Up North News joined the call on Tuesday, and highlighted this concern in a piece on the lawsuit before the Supreme Court.

“Trump and fellow Republican leaders have never proposed a replacement for the law to uphold its incredibly popular provisions such as protection for those with pre-existing conditions, allowing young adults to stay on their parents’ insurance until age 26, and banning insurance companies from instituting lifetime coverage caps. Instead, Trump and the GOP have offered empty promises to protect people’s health coverage while simultaneously working diligently to undermine those very protections.”

As WMTV reports, Reverend Dana Kelley, a panelist on the call, spoke to the unique challenges COVID-19 presents to communities of color and her own concerns about health care given that she has multiple pre-existing conditions, including COVID-19. 

“The Affordable Care Act can allow for people like me with pre-existing conditions, employed or unemployed, to afford quality health care,” said Kelley.

You can watch the event here, and view additional coverage of the event below: 

  • CBS 58: State leaders react as Supreme Court considers Affordable Care Act
  • PBS Wisconsin: Wisconsin Officials Stress Importance of ACA as Supreme Court Hears Arguments
  • WITI: Protect Our Care Wisconsin Virtual Conversation
  • WSAW: Panelists in Favor of Health Care
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