Forest, Grange Silent On ACA Lawsuit That Could Wreak Havoc On North Carolina

Yesterday, the Fifth Circuit ruled a portion of the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional. This Trump-backed lawsuit is the Republican health care plan to rip away health care from millions of Americans. Here are some of the ways this lawsuit could have disastrous results for North Carolina:

• Insurance plans could refuse to cover 3.9 million North Carolinians with a pre-existing condition.
• 503,000 North Carolinans could lose their health insurance, leading to a 43 percent increase in the uninsured rate.
• Insurance plans could be able to impose lifetime limits on coverage for those insured through their employer or on the individual market.
• North Carolina women could be charged more than men.
• North Carolinians over the age of 60 could face a $5,700 “age tax,” which could allow insurance plans to charge people over 60 more than young people.
• Insurance plans could no longer be required to cover prescription drugs and maternity care.
• Access to treatment for North Carolinians with a substance use disorder could be in jeopardy.

By blocking Medicaid expansion, State Rep. Holly Grange and Lt. Gov. Dan Forest’s political games will cost North Carolina $21 billion in federal funding by 2020 and 43,000 fewer jobs. Grange and Forest don’t support expansion, which has left 634,00 North Carolinians needlessly uninsured.
“Grange and Forest’s silence on this reckless lawsuit shows voters can’t trust him to protect health care for North Carolinians with a pre-existing condition,” said DGA Communications Director David Turner. “North Carolinians are already seeing the effects of Grange and Forest blocking Medicaid expansion—rural hospitals are at risk of closure and 634,000 people are needlessly uninsured. Forest and Grange must condemn this lawsuit that could strip 500,000 North Carolinians of their health care and why they are blocking 634,000 people from gaining health insurance coverage.”