Ernst Complicit in GOP Lawsuit to Enable Discrimination Against Iowans With Pre-Existing Conditions
On Thursday, GOP leaders will file opening briefs in their lawsuit before the Supreme Court to repeal the entire ACA. With critical health care at stake, this week the IDP will spotlight Senator Ernst’s egregious silent support for the lawsuit and her repeated votes to rip Iowans off of their life-saving care – starting with one of the far-reaching and widely popular provisions: coverage protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
1.3 million Iowans are protected by the ACA’s ban on discrimination by insurance companies. But if the GOP lawsuit is successful – a suit enabled by Senator Ernst’s vote for the 2017 GOP Tax Scam – it could kick patients off of coverage and abandon Iowans during a pandemic most deadly to those with underlying medical conditions.
Despite it all, Senator Ernst is standing by the GOP lawsuit, saying “I’m not saying whether I support it or not.” That silence comes as Ernst and the dark money group run by her top aides are attempting an election-year rewrite of her half-decade of voting to dismantle coverage protections. But not only have independent fact checks set the record straight, her silence on the lawsuit makes clear her priorities aren’t with Iowans.
“Facing a double-digit fallout in support, Senator Ernst has tried to hide the truth from voters – but her silence only reinforces her shameless six years of putting the profits of corporate special interests above the health of Iowans,” said Jeremy Busch, Iowa Democratic Party spokesperson. “Senator Ernst is past the point of no return. When she can’t even pull herself to oppose her party’s effort to undermine health care and services for millions of Iowans, voters know she’s long fallen into Washington’s corrupt ways.”
Public approval of the health law and of Senator Ernst’s failed tenure continue to move in opposite directions. While the ACA is more popular than ever and coverage protections for pre-existing conditions are supported by 83% of voters, Ernst has seen her favorability collapse – with net favorability dropping 22% in just one year with no signs of stopping.