FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 22, 2019
Contact:
Stacy Stanford
801-718-6130
SALT LAKE-- The latest threat to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Texas v United States, is sitting in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, with a decision set to be announced any day now.
When the ruling comes down, UHPP will quickly review the details and send a press alert announcing the logistics of the call, including date, time, and the number to dial.
We plan to host the call within four hours of the decision, but that may vary depending on the time and details of the announcement.
Speakers on the press call will include Stacy Stanford, UHPP's Health Policy Analyst, and Paul Gibbs, long-time health care advocate and UHPP board member.
Stanford will provide an update on the ruling and what it means to Utah, while Gibbs will provide a personal narrative that informs those policy details. They will also answer questions. The call will be on the record, open to members of the media and local advocates- but only media will be allowed to ask questions.
There may be other advocates or policy experts on the line, depending on the timing and details of the decision.
Texas vs United States
is a lawsuit on its way to
wiping out
the ACA without any sort of backup plan or replacement. 102,000 Utahns would lose coverage by repealing the Affordable Care Act, leading to a 27 percent increase in the uninsured rate. Another 1,221,000 Utahns have a pre-existing condition, including 218,300 Utah children, 673,000 Utah women, and 221,100 Utahns between ages 55 and 64- and they could all lose or be priced out of their coverage.
Additionally, every single Utahn with health insurance is currently protected by countless provisions in the ACA-- and those would all vanish, ripping the rug out from our entire health care system.
Statewide, More than 194,000 Utahns get their insurance through the healthcare.gov individual market, and approximately another 30,000 have gained coverage through Utah's partial Medicaid expansion. A new report estimates that
102,000 Utahns
would be uninsured if the Texas v. US case is successful, however this estimate includes some assumptions, and the actual number losing coverage would likely be much larger.
Utahns with pre-existing conditions would be locked out, or priced out, of access to health insurance. Estimates vary on how many people have pre-existing conditions, but the Department of Health and Human Services has stated that these rules could impact
50% of Americans
. Further, Utah's economy would lose
$991 million dollars, and 14,000 jobs
.
