Ed Board Blasts Iowa GOP for Silently Standing By A Lawsuit Enabled by Senator Ernst that Would Repeal Health Coverage During a Pandemic

In a scathing editorial, the Des Moines Register Editorial Board took Senator Joni Ernst and the Iowa GOP to task for refusing to condemn the GOP’s lawsuit to repeal the entire Affordable Care Act – an effort that would have “disastrous consequences” on Iowa’s health care system and rip away insurance in the middle of an unprecedented pandemic.

The lawsuit, made possible by Senator Ernst’s vote for the 2017 GOP Tax Scam, threatens the very same health coverage and protections that Senator Ernst has spent her career voting to undermine. Yet, 100 days after the Supreme Court announced it would take up the case, Senator Ernst has refused to reveal her position to voters, saying, “I’m not saying whether I support it or not.”

As the editorial makes clear, if the GOP’s lawsuit is successful, Iowans could:

  • “Lose the expansion of Medicaid and federal subsidies that help Iowans pay for private insurance.”
  • “Lose protections for people with preexisting conditions and coverage for young adults under their parents’ health insurance.”
  • Have their “health services and infrastructure” compromised

“Senator Ernst’s silence speaks volumes on her true priorities in Washington. After cashing in over $500,000 in campaign checks from Big Pharma and the insurance industry, Senator Ernst is complicit in her party’s egregious effort to repeal Iowans’ essential health coverage and protections during a pandemic,” said Jeremy Busch, Iowa Democratic Party spokesperson.

Des Moines Register: Editorial: Republicans should withdraw lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act; having health insurance is crucial in a pandemic

June 9, 2020

Key points:

  • The Supreme Court is set to hear the case this fall. It was brought by Republican-led states and backed by the Trump administration. The result could be striking down most or all of the health reform law, which would have disastrous consequences for Iowans.
  • Along with other Americans, we could lose the expansion of Medicaid and federal subsidies that help Iowans pay for private insurance. We could lose protections for people with preexisting conditions and coverage for young adults under their parents’ health insurance. 
  • It is not only individual Iowans who would suffer. When people don’t have insurance, health providers and hospitals are not paid to treat them. The ensuing loss of revenue would compromise health services and infrastructure needed by all of us. 
  • [Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller] supports the ACA and is part of a 20-state coalition of Democrats who want the Supreme Court to uphold it.
  • Reynolds, as well as Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, should encourage exactly that. 
  • For a decade, GOP politicians have challenged the law with votes to repeal it, lawsuits and refusal to make legislative fixes, while never providing a viable alternative. 
  • The ACA has been implemented in every state. It allows entrepreneurs and early retirees to buy coverage on their own without the help of an employer. That is especially important as millions of Americans have lost their jobs in recent months. 
  • The ACA is not perfect, but it insures millions of Americans, protects them from insurance company abuses and allows people with preexisting health problems to buy coverage.
  • It’s also pretty darn important for Americans to have health care during an infectious disease pandemic.