Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) released the following statement in response to the U.S Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in the Texas v. Azar case.
“Today’s ruling is a reminder to all Americans of Senate Republicans’ and President Trump’s assault on the health care of hardworking Nevada families. The ruling prolongs the stressful uncertainty many Nevadans are facing over whether they will be able to keep their insurance and the preexisting conditions protections provided under the Affordable Care Act. Rather than pursue this dangerous lawsuit that opens the door wider to kicking millions of people off their health insurance, Leader McConnell and President Trump could have been working with Democrats to pass legislation to strengthen the Affordable Care Act and provide certainty to Nevada families and all Americans. I’ll be doing all I can on behalf of the people of Nevada to protect their access to quality, affordable health care.”
BACKGROUND:
In their ruling, the Fifth Circuit held that the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional and remanded the question of severability to a lower court. The continued uncertainty from the lawsuit, which the Trump Administration supports, threatens to rip away insurance coverage for over 200,000 Nevadans and throw our nation’s health care system into chaos.