U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine’s 1st District is vowing to protect the Affordable Care Act when she returns to Congress in January. At a press conference in Portland on Monday, Pingree and supporters of the federal health law denounced the recent court ruling in Texas that found the ACA unconstitutional.
When Congress reconvenes next year, Pingree says that she and her colleagues in the Democratic majority will pass a resolution that will allow the House to defend the Affordable Care Act during the appeals process. Pingree also expects lawmakers to submit bills to protect what she calls important pillars of health care established by the ACA.
“Protecting people with pre-existing conditions. Keeping your kids on your plan until you’re 26. Medicaid expansion. Working to close the Medicare Part D doughnut hole for seniors,” she says.
Pingree spoke at a press conference at Portland restaurant Little Giant. Owner Briana Volk says being able to buy insurance from the ACA marketplace gave her and her husband the security they needed to start their business, which includes a bar at another location and employs about 50 people.
“That’s what health care security is about. Allowing people the ability to work toward their goals, invest in the community and care for their family without the worry of health care costs that could skyrocket unexpectedly,” she says.
Volk and other advocates of the ACA at the press conference criticized Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine for voting for the tax bill last year that repealed the ACA’s tax penalty for the individual mandate. That repeal was the basis for the lawsuit challenging the ACA brought by 18 Republican state attorneys general and two governors, including Maine Gov. Paul LePage.
The U.S. Supreme Court previously upheld the ACA because of the tax. But on Friday, a U.S. District Court judge in Texas ruled that the loss of the tax renders the law unconstitutional.
“This lawsuit is absurd. It’s reckless. Most people think it will be overturned,” Pingree says.
She says Republicans will have opportunities to “redeem bad votes” after promising during the midterm elections that they would protect people with pre-existing conditions.
“This is a wake up call to Republicans generally, whether they’re in the House or the Senate, and if they’re going to stand by their promise to make sure everyone has access to affordable health care. We’re going to have to take back some of the things they voted for in the past. And we’re going to give them a lot of opportunities to vote for good things in the future,” Pingree says.
The Affordable Care Act remains in effect for now. But appeals in the case could eventually land the federal law before the Supreme Court once more.
