Oral Arguments in Texas v. US, the Republican Attorney General-led Lawsuit to Gut Health Care for Millions, Slated for This Week

“Health Care Hypocrites” Campaign Targets Five Attorneys General in Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Utah, and West Virginia Who Are Part of the GOP Lawsuit Attacking Health Care

Washington, D.C.—  The Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA) today announced a six-figure digital and print ad blitz in five states, highlighting each state’s Attorneys General role in the Republican lawsuit attacking health care for millions of Americans, as well as in the District of Columbia. The state Attorneys General are Indiana AG Curtis Hill, Louisiana AG Jeff Landry, Missouri AG Eric Schmitt, Utah AG Sean Reyes, and West Virginia AG Patrick Morrisey. The five states are part of the Republican coalition in Texas vs. The US, a lawsuit that puts health care for millions, including those with pre-existing conditions, at risk of losing health care coverage. Oral arguments in the case are slated for Tuesday, July 9^th in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

“President Trump may call the GOP ‘the party of health care’, but the truth is these Republican AGs are in court this week trying to sabotage health care coverage for millions of Americans,” said Farah Melendez, DAGA Political Director. “These health care hypocrites are attacking the critical care people in their states rely on to go to the doctor, afford prescription medication, and  take care of sick kids and family members.”

The ad blitz includes Sunday newspaper ads in the Indianapolis Star, The Advocate, St. Louis Dispatch, Salt Lake Tribune, and Charleston Gazette-Mail. Digital ads will run in key locations in all five states plus the District of Columbia throughout the week.

Scroll down for examples of the advertisements.

“The health care debate is often limited to what is happening in Congress when the real action is happening at the state AG level,” continued Melendez. “If you care about your health care, you need to care about who your Attorney General is—and where they stand on health care. ”

The GOP lawsuit was filed in February 2018. By May, California AG Xavier Becerra and 16 Democratic AGs successfully intervened to vigorously defend the Affordable Care Act and the millions of families across the country who rely on it for affordable care. In February 2019, four additional states joined the Democratic AG defense: Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, and Nevada.

If the GOP sabotage is successful, nearly every American could be affected, including:

• More than 130 million Americans, including 17 million children, with pre-existing conditions
• More than 2.3 million young people under 26 years of age who are covered by their parents’ health plans
• Nearly 12 million seniors on Medicare who need the benefit to afford prescription drugs
• Rural hospitals, who rely on the ACA to keep health care costs down for patients
• Women, who could be charged more than men by insurance companies based on their gender

Polling conducted by Public Policy Polling in May 2019 found 65% of voters support the Affordable Care Act and a majority of voters say they trust Democrats more on the overall issue of health care. health care was a top issue in the 2018 Midterms and played a role in flipping four AG seats blue.

Republican Attorneys General from Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia and the governor of Mississippi are parties to the lawsuit attacking health care for Americans millions of Americans. Five of the states with Republican AGs attempting to gut health care have AG elections in the 2019-2020 cycle.

Joining California AG Xavier Becerra to defend the ACA, Democratic Attorneys General from Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia have successfully intervened in the case. Five of the states with AGs defending the health care have AG elections in the 2019-2020 cycle.

For more information on the Health Care Hypocrites or to learn more, check out the DAGA’s new ACA-focused website linked here.