BATON ROUGE – A group of health care, nonprofit and community leaders is urging Attorney General Jeff Landry to withdraw Louisiana from a lawsuit that seeks repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and its protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Landry has joined 19 other attorneys general and governors in arguing that the entire health-care law became unconstitutional when Congress eliminated the penalty for not having health insurance.
If Texas v. United States was successful, it could have dire consequences, including:
- 485,000 residents who have gained health insurance through Medicaid expansion could become uninsured;
- 94,000 low-to moderate-income families who receive federal subsidies to purchase insurance in the individual marketplace could lose that assistance; and
- 849,000 residents with pre-existing conditions could lose protections that prohibit discrimination by insurance companies.
While Landry’s suit asks a federal judge to overturn the entire ACA, it more specifically targets the law’s consumer protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Without these vital protections, Louisiana could revert back to a system where a person’s health status could not only derail their quality of life, but also their financial security.
“Attorney General Landry signed onto this dangerous lawsuit without any plan to protect the hundred of thousands of Louisianans who could lose their coverage or be denied insurance because of a pre-existing condition,” said Jan Moller, Executive Director of the Louisiana Budget Project. “Because of this, we are asking that he withdraw Louisiana from this potential miscarriage of justice.”
Download the PDF to read the letter to Attorney General Jeff Landry. Click here to read a brief by LBP Policy Director Jeanie Donovan outlining what Louisiana stands to lose if Landry and his counterparts prevail in the Texas v. United States lawsuit.
