Issued January 03, 2020
WASHINGTON, D.C. — When the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate unconstitutional last month in Texas v. Azar, working people united in SEIU pledged to fight back in 2020. Today, 19 Democratic state attorneys general and the Kentucky governor have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case and end healthcare uncertainty for millions of Americans.
“The Fifth Circuit’s ruling gave President Trump and his Republican allies a partisan path toward ripping affordable healthcare away from working people. The decision was legally and morally wrong,” said SEIU International President Mary Kay Henry. “2019 closed with healthcare in jeopardy for millions of working people, and we will hold those elected officials who are siding with insurance and drug companies accountable. Everyone, no matter what they do or where they live, should have the security of affordable healthcare and the vast majority of Americans support the benefits and protections of the Affordable Care Act — a law that has allowed more working people than ever before to afford healthcare so that they and their families can thrive.”
Despite having no clear plan for improving our healthcare system, the Trump Administration and the Republican elected officials behind Texas v. Azar willfully intend to deny millions of people quality, affordable healthcare, including 135 million people with pre-existing conditions, 17 million people covered through Medicaid expansion and 10 million people covered through the law’s marketplace.
“The Supreme Court must accept the petition and expedite its review of the Fifth Circuit’s baleful Texas v. Azar ruling. In doing so, the court has the opportunity to end the dangerous political game the Trump administration has been playing with the lives of working people,” continued Henry. “As the country’s largest healthcare union, SEIU will keep fighting until we win healthcare for all, including long term care, and ensure that all working people have the opportunity to join together in a union to bargain a better life.”
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The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) unites 2 million diverse members in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. SEIU members working in the healthcare industry, in the public sector and in property services believe in the power of joining together on the job to win higher wages and benefits and to create better communities while fighting for a more just society and an economy that works for all of us, not just corporations and the wealthy.