Today in Madison and Green Bay, local leaders, students and health care advocates held Donald Trump accountable for his threats to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which could strip access to health insurance for Wisconsinites, including those with pre-existing conditions and many young adults under the age of 26. Trump has called the ACA “lousy” and has promised to “terminate” it as part of his Project 2025 agenda. As president, Trump repeatedly tried to cut Medicare and repeal the ACA. Last week on the debate stage, Trump doubled down on his “concepts of a plan” to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which would cause 266,000 Wisconsinites to lose their health care coverage.
Meanwhile, Vice President Harris’ New Way Forward plan would lower health care costs, protect rural hospitals, and strengthen the ACA that 45 million Americans rely on. Last Thursday, Vice President Harris called out Trump’s comments, saying he’s going to “end the Affordable Care Act … based on a ‘concept’ and take us back to when insurance companies had the power to deny people with pre-existing conditions.”
“On stage in front of millions of Americans, Trump called the ACA ‘lousy’ and said that he is ‘working’ on a plan to get rid of the ACA. When the moderators pushed him on these so-called plans, he admitted he only had ‘concepts of a plan,’” said state Senator Kelda Roys. “We can’t let Donald Trump have another chance to raise health care costs and rip away coverage for hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites and make good on his promise to ‘terminate’ the ACA. We have to work to elect Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Walz who will lower health care costs and strengthen these critical services.”
“[Donald Trump] wants to take us backward – to a time when patients had to choose between putting food on the table and getting the care they need, when infants with heart defects could be refused insurance coverage, when cancer patients went into hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt to get access to the care they needed to survive. This is life and death for the patients we treat,” said Madison resident Dr. Sophie Kramer. “That is why we are coming together to support the only candidate in this race who is committed to lowering costs and protecting our health care: Kamala Harris.”
“Thanks to the ACA, I can feel secure in the fact that I’ll be able to stay on my parents’ health insurance until the age of 26. When I graduate, I can choose my career path without worrying whether I’ll be able to afford an emergency medical bill if, God forbid, something happens to me in the near future. Donald Trump and JD Vance’s Project 2025 agenda would repeal the Affordable Care Act, leaving millions of young adults nationwide suddenly without health insurance,” said UW-Madison student, Whit Bottari. “The choice this November could not be more clear. We must elect Vice President Harris.”
“My mother suffers from severe diabetes. And with insulin costs that were upwards of $300 a month, she has had no choice but to ration her insulin when times have been hard. But thanks to Vice President Harris, my mom’s insulin costs have been drastically reduced. They capped the cost of insulin to $35 per month –it’s made such a huge difference for families like mine,” said Amaad Rivera-Wagner, candidate for the 90th Assembly District. “It’s a stark contrast with Donald Trump’s efforts to take us backward on health care. Trump is promising to ‘terminate’ the Affordable Care Act and roll back savings on health care costs.”
“The Affordable Care Act ensured I didn’t go bankrupt because of my medical bills, and I don’t know what I would have done without it,” said Vik Varma, health care advocate. “This November, the ACA is on the ballot. I will be voting for Vice President Harris and Governor Walz because they are the only candidates who will protect our health care and fight for us – not the big drug companies.”
“For me, access to affordable health care literally keeps me alive. My wife and I are not quite old enough for Medicare, and we have been insured through the Affordable Care Act marketplace throughout my entire battle with cancer,” said Ed Holzhauer, a local Green Bay resident. “However, Donald Trump would take it all away. After trying repeatedly as president to repeal the Affordable Care Act, he doubled down on the debate stage last week, saying he still wants to end the ACA. The ACA has been a lifeline to me, and Vice President Harris has already helped lower my health care costs with ACA subsidies. We must build on this progress and send Vice President Harris and Governor Walz to the White House!”
