By: Team Sherrod

Acne. Diabetes. Cancer. Pregnancy. Depression.

These are just a few of the pre-existing conditions affecting millions of our friends, neighbors, and loved ones. And this administration wants to make it harder for them to get the care they need.

Late last week, the Department of Justice said that critical provisions of the Affordable Care Act — which protect those with pre-existing conditions — should be invalidated. If Republican leaders’ efforts are successful, millions of Americans could be charged more for quality care. It’s their latest (and one of their most devastating) attempt to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, and hardworking families and individuals across the country will pay the price.

Heartbreaking news like this makes it clearer than ever that we need a leader like Sherrod in the Senate, fighting hard to make sure all Americans have the care they need. If you’re ready to fight with him, show your support now:

CNN: Trump administration’s latest attack on Obamacare would gut protections for the sick

Tami Luhby – June 8, 2018

Key points:

• The Trump administration is seeking to gut two core Affordable Care Act provisions that guarantee that folks with pre-existing conditions can get health insurance without having to pay more for it.
• In a legal filing Thursday night, the Department of Justice said that key parts of the Affordable Care Act should be invalidated and that the individual mandate is unconstitutional. The filing is part of a lawsuit brought by the state of Texas and a coalition of other Republican-led states that are challenging the law’s constitutionally.
• The first provision under scrutiny requires insurers to offer coverage to everyone regardless of their health background. The second, called community rating, prevents carriers from charging more to those who are sick or had conditions in the past.
• Before the Affordable Care Act became law, insurers could deny or restrict applicants’ coverage based on their medical history, or carriers could charge higher premiums or offer limited benefits to those who are or were sick.
• These consumer protections proved enormously popular with Americans and are among the reasons why efforts to repeal the law in Congress failed last year. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll found some 70% of respondents said the federal government should continue prohibiting insurers from charging more to those with pre-existing conditions.
• More than 52 million non-elderly Americans have health conditions that could have rendered them uninsurable prior to Obamacare, a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis found.

Read more here.