Hassan and Shaheen Join Colleagues in Reintroducing Resolution to Defend Constitutionality of Protections for People with Pre-Existing Conditions

WASHINGTON – Senators Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen joined colleagues this week in reintroducing a Senate resolution that would authorize the Senate Legal Counsel to defend Granite Staters and Americans with pre-existing conditions against the lawsuit brought by Republican Attorneys General – and supported by the Trump Administration –Texas v. United States. The court decision would strike down the entire Affordable Care Act and put millions of people at risk of losing their health care coverage. The U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass a similar resolution last week.

“If the Texas court decision is upheld, it would raise health care costs and take away coverage from millions of Americans,” Senator Hassan said. “This awful court ruling would be especially disastrous for people with pre-existing conditions, denying them health care coverage or charging them more for having conditions such as asthma, diabetes, or cancer. I urge my Republican colleagues to put the health and well-being of their fellow Americans before partisan politics and vote to protect Americans with pre-existing conditions.”

“The partisan ruling in this court case risks taking us back to a time before the Affordable Care Act when health insurers held all the cards and could deny coverage to patients with cancer, diabetes and other pre-existing conditions – we can’t let that happen,” Senator Shaheen said. “This lawsuit would undermine access to health care coverage that Americans depend on, all in an attempt to gut the Affordable Care Act, which the majority of Americans support. I will continue to fight this attempt to take away protections for Granite Staters who are living with pre-existing conditions, and I stand ready to work across the aisle on bipartisan legislation to expand health care coverage and lower health care costs.”

Read the full resolution here.

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