The Trump Administration decided this week to ask the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to kill the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Trump Justice Department said it supported the Texas Judge who ruled in December to end the ACA in its entirety. The case will most certainly go to the Supreme Court, and it will put millions of Americans’ heath care at risk.
Hundreds of thousands of Iowans would lose their pre-existing condition protections, including Iowans that receive their insurance through their employers. Senator Ernst has been a cheerleader for the Republican ACA repeal crowd, and she will own this health care catastrophe if the ACA is destroyed. She has made repeal of the ACA a primary goal of her term in office.
The Trump decision has seriously divided the Republican Party since this may put many vulnerable Republicans at risk in 2020. Many of the successful Democrats elected in 2018 ran on guaranteeing pre-existing conditions and other patient health care features. Many Republican have warned Trump that destroying the ACA will doom many Republican candidates.
News reports mention three Republican Senators up for reelection in 2020 that are most at risk if the ACA is eliminated: Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, Colorado Senator Cory Gardner and Maine Senator Susan Collins. Collins has voted to preserve the ACA in earlier votes, but Ernst has been in lock step in calling for repeal since her election to the Senate.
If Trump is successful in killing the ACA, it would spawn monumental health care chaos. Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care, a health advocacy lobby for the ACA, issued the following statement about Ernst and Trump’s role in sabotaging Iowans’ health care:
“Like two sides of the same coin, Joni Ernst and the Trump Administration have worked relentlessly to undermine the Affordable Care Act. Today, they are one step closer to ripping health care away from millions of Iowans with pre-existing conditions like cancer, diabetes, or asthma. If this ruling isn’t overturned, Joni Ernst will roll back the clock and take Iowans back to the days where insurance companies had the power to once again deny, drop, or charge more for coverage. They will once again have the power to impose annual or lifetime limits and charge women and seniors more based on their age and gender. Make no mistake, these actions will hurt hundreds of millions of Iowans.”
The number of Iowans at risk of losing coverage if Trump and Ernst are successful is staggering.
Thousands of Iowans that gained health care through the ACA marketplace would lose their coverage. An additional 150,000 Iowans that gained health care under the Medicaid expansion would lose their coverage. And Iowans that receive healthcare through their employers would lose essential benefits as well without the ACA guarantees.
Over 1.2 million Iowans with pre-existing health conditions would lose their protections. More than 24,000 young adults covered under their parents plans until age 26 would lose that access. The 1.5 million Iowans with employer coverage would lose access to free preventive care and once again face lifetime or annual limits on coverage.
Senator Ernst can’t run away from her four-year assault on the ACA. If the ACA is destroyed, she will own this catastrophic loss of health care for Iowans.
by Rick Smith
Photo by Julie Fleming
Posted 3/29/19
4 Comments on "Will Joni Ernst Rip Healthcare Away From Thousands Of Iowans?"
You forgot to mention the rollback on Medicare, as well, like free health screenings, (somewhat) lower drug prices, closing the Par D “donut hole”…
So, assuming your title was hyperbole or at least tongue-in-cheek, the answer is, “Of course she will, or at least she’ll try her damndest.”
Remember, Alan Grayson’s description of the Republican (including Ms Ernst) health “plan” – “Don’t get sick. And if you do get sick, die quickly.” That certainly seems to be the MO this time around as well.
Sen. Ernst has never given a good reason why she wants to eliminate the ACA. I do not think she realizes how important health insurance is to the average Iowan. When she was in the military, she did not have to worry about the cost of medical care or meds. Her lack of knowledge about the medical needs of Iowans shows her indifference and callous attitude towards the people who elected her.
There is also the Trump factor and the fear he brings to politicians if they do not follow his policies. Sen. Ernst should realize that if she votes to eliminate the ACA, she will not be re-elected in 2020.
Her signing the bill into law twice now to make abortions illegal I think has already screwed her chance of getting reelected in 2020…when it was ovetturned deemed unconstitutional the 1st time she still was pushing for it again…she cares more about the money that could go into her pocket then the people she represents as sadly most politicians do… i am not pro abortion but i am pro choice and as a women the fact she doesnt believe in a womens right to do as they please with their own bodies is sickenin. i am so vety angry and disappointed at what our government has become
In 2009 it was the illustrious Senator Grassley warning of ACA death panels with the joining of Senator Ernst in 2014 to vote for every dismantlement of the ACA. Enter 2016 President Trump and his crusade on the ACA and here we are today in 2019 exactly where we the people started with trying to find some fairness in healthcare for all levels of our citizens. Gee maybe Senator Grassley wasn’t so wrong ten years ago just a little switch-up of sides.