U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Joins Colleagues to Reintroduce Resolution To Defend Constitutionality of Pre-Existing Condition Protections

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin joined her colleagues led by Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bob Casey (D-PA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Patty Murray (D-WA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) to reintroduce a Senate resolution that would authorize Senate Legal Counsel to defend Americans with pre-existing conditions against the Republican Attorneys General lawsuit that would put millions of Americans at risk of losing their health insurance.

“No parent should have to lay awake at night wondering if the health care they have today, for themselves and their children, will be there tomorrow. But this lawsuit threatens to take away guaranteed health protections and raise costs for Wisconsinites with pre-existing conditions,” said Senator Baldwin. “We must do everything we can to protect people’s health care because if this political attack succeeds, insurance companies will again be able to deny coverage or charge higher premiums for more than 2 million people in Wisconsin with a pre-existing condition. I support this resolution because the Senate should make it clear that we stand on the side of defending Americans with pre-existing conditions and the health care they depend on.”

The lawsuit, Texas vs. United States, is challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, including the law’s consumer protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Instead of defending the law and these vital health care protections, the Department of Justice effectively announced it will not defend the existing law.  

In December, a Federal judge in Texas declared the Affordable Care Act (ACA) unconstitutional. If the decision stands, 20 million Americans will be left without the health insurance they rely on. The 133 million Americans and more than 2 million Wisconsinites with a pre-existing condition will be at risk of losing their access to health insurance and millions of families across the country will see health care costs rise. If it is allowed to stand, the human costs of this decision will be profound. 

In addition to Baldwin, Manchin, Rosen, Casey, Schumer, Murray and Wyden, the resolution is cosponsored by Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Tom Carper (D-DE), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Doug Jones (D-AL), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Pat Leahy (D-VT), Ed Markey (D-MA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Tina Smith (D-MN), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Jon Tester (D-MT), Tom Udall (D-NM), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) Mark Warner (D-VA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).  

Read the full resolution here.