According to the U.S. Labor Department, the number of new people claiming unemployment insurance now totals a staggering record of nearly 10 million over the past two weeks. Despite the spike, the Trump administration announced this week it would refuse to reopen enrollment in the Affordable Care Act’s federal health insurance marketplace — making it harder for Americans scrambling to get health care now because they have been laid off in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.
One factor in the administration’s decision to refuse to reopen ACA enrollment in the middle of an escalating public health crisis was “the president’s support for a federal lawsuit that would overturn the entire law” – a lawsuit Senate Republicans enabled. Not one has taken action to demand the president open a special enrollment period.
Republican Senators have also refused to take meaningful steps to stop their party’s health care lawsuit, which threatens to end coverage protections for pre-existing conditions, Medicaid expansion, and other critical programs and protections. Here’s what they’ve said:
“The fact that Republicans in Washington are making it harder for the millions of American workers who have just lost their jobs in the past few weeks to get health care on the federal exchange in the middle of a growing pandemic is unconscionable,” said DSCC spokesperson Stewart Boss. “Workers who are suddenly unemployed need support and relief, not more hurdles to getting access to the affordable coverage they urgently need to get through this public health and economic crisis, and Republican senators should start putting the safety and security of their constituents ahead of their political agenda in Washington.”
Read more:
###
Next Post
