Ernst Repeatedly Avoids Answering for Her Efforts to Gut Coverage Protections for Pre-Existing Conditions Amid a Deadly Pandemic

Senator Joni Ernst did not want to talk about her six years of voting to gut health care during Monday’s Senate debate. But only minutes in, Ernst was already grasping at straws to avoid discussing how she “supports a repeal of the Affordable Care Act” and has repeatedly voted “to either repeal parts of or replace the ACA.”

Throughout the debate, Senator Ernst was held accountable by both Democratic nominee Theresa Greenfield and by the moderators for dodging questions on her votes to gut coverage protections for pre-existing conditions and undo Iowa’s Medicaid expansion. Not only was Ernst’s jumbled response completely devoid of a plan to protect health care – Ernst even acknowledged that her patchwork of partisan and ineffective bills “lacked the support to get over the finish line.”

WATCH: Ernst Dodges Questions on Voting to Repeal the ACA, Coverage Protections for Pre-Existing Conditions

If the Ernst-backed GOP lawsuit to repeal the ACA is successful, nearly a quarter-million Iowans could lose their health coverage – not to mention the 1.3 million Iowans who could face discrimination from insurers.

This is far from the first time Ernst’s harmful health care agenda has been in the spotlight. When asked during her July interview on Iowa Press about her plan for health care if the ACA was struck down, Ernst meandered through a 75-second, 199-word non-answer with zero details or solutions.

“Despite her desperate efforts to avoid answering for her harmful record, Senator Ernst admitted that her support for the GOP’s lawsuit to repeal the ACA comes with no safety net – even though it could leave nearly a quarter-million Iowans without health coverage amid a deadly pandemic. Health care is the top issue on the ballot, and voters are holding Ernst accountable for putting her Big Pharma and insurance industry donors ahead of Iowans,” said Jeremy Busch, Iowa Democratic Party spokesperson.