JERSEY CITY, N.J. – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee that sets national health policy, today rallied outside of Jersey City Medical Center with dozens of patients, health care professionals and advocates to highlight the disastrous effect that gutting the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would have on individuals and families across the nation including seniors, college students and those with pre-existing conditions. Despite failing in its effort to repeal the ACA in Congress, the Trump Administration recently announced it will no longer defend the ACA in court and instead argue that the law is unconstitutional and should be overturned.

“The Trump Administration’s latest legal assault on the Affordable Care Act isn’t just an attack on people with pre-existing conditions, or low-income workers on Medicaid, or seniors with high prescription drug costs. It is an attack on all of us. And make no mistake, President Trump’s Republican enablers in Congress are complicit in this scheme to tear health care away from millions,” said Sen. Menendez. “Because despite all of Trump’s campaign promises about better, cheaper health care – Trumpcare has always meant ‘no care’.”

CLICK TO WATCH SEN. MENENDEZ’S FULL REMARKS

Several New Jerseyans who rely on the ACA for affordable, quality health care coverage spoke at today’s rally:

Scott Fishbone, North Caldwell, Essex

When Scott was two-years-old he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Now at 51, he has been able to receive affordable health insurance because of the ACA’s protections for individuals with pre-exisiting conditions. Some 3.8 million New Jerseyans live with a pre-existing condition. Scott’s nephew, a recent 22-year-old college graduate, also has Type 1 diabetes. He has been able to stay on his parent’s insurance because of the ACA.

Dominique Goodson, Newark, Essex

Dominque is a sickle cell anemia self-advocate. Due to her illness and the cost of her treatment regiment, Dominique has benefitted from the ACA’s elimination of lifetime caps and its mandate to cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.

Erika Hanke, Jersey City, Hudson

Erika suffers from high blood pressure and has had skin cancer twice. She was able to obtain coverage through Medicaid expansion. Since obtaining coverage, she has been able to have regular doctor’s visits. As of November 2018, 563,000 New Jersey residents have benefited from Medicaid expansion.

Tish Jackson, Jersey City, Hudson

Tish is a senior who, like millions of seniors across the country, rely on prescription drug medication on a daily basis. Tish has been able to afford her medication because of the ACA’s closing of the Medicare Part D donut hole. New Jerseyans saved over $1.3 billion on their prescription drugs due to the donut hole closure before the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) stopped calculating in 2016

Marie-Alice Stout, Ridgewood, Bergen

Marie-Alice has struggled with addiction and completed the Addiction Services Continuum at CarePlus. Since then, she has become a certified alcohol and drug counselor. Because of the inclusion of behavioral health services as essential benefits under the ACA, Marie-Alice has been able to receive the care and treatment she needs. It’s estimated that 60 million Americans gained mental health services and substance use disorder care coverage under the ACA.


CLICK TO VIEW PHOTOS

Texas, and 18 other states, filed suit last year in federal court challenging the constitutionality of the ACA in light of the repeal of the individual mandate penalty contained in the 2017 Trump Tax Bill. A federal judge in Texas ruled in favor of the states’ argument that since the penalty was repealed in the tax bill, the individual mandate was no longer a tax and the mandate was no longer a valid, constitutional exercise of Congressional authority. This holding led the judge in the case to rule that the entire ACA was unconstitutional as the mandate was not severable from the rest of the law. President Trump and Congressional Republicans initially intervened in the case to strike down the insurance provisions, including protections for patients with pre-existing conditions. However, the Trump Justice Department announced last week that it will stop defending the ACA in court and, on appeal to the 5th Circuit, will join Texas and the other state plaintiffs in arguing the entire ACA is unconstitutional.

Representatives from Action Together New Jersey, BlueWaveNJ, Metropolitan Family Health Network, CarePlus New Jersey and The New Jersey Hospital Association attended today’s event. Jersey City Councilmen Rolando Lavarro, Jr. and James Solomon were also in attendance.

Sen. Menendez has been a strong supporter of the ACA and was an author of key provisions that were included in the bill, including ones that bolster community health centers, expanded Medicaid and strengthened consumer protections. When the Republican-controlled Congress led the charge to dismantle the bill in 2017, Sen. Menendez was a leading voice in defending health care for millions of Americans.