Sununu’s Response to Trump’s Move to Officially Repeal Entire ACA

Concord, N.H. - The Trump administration yesterday officially filed its brief supporting the Texas lawsuit to completely repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Repeal would leave tens of thousands of Granite Staters without health care, especially hurting those with pre-existing conditions and those seeking treatment for substance use disorder. Despite this, Governor Chris Sununu still refuses to join the 21 states suing to protect health care.

If the Affordable Care Act is struck down (according to Protect Our Care):

• GONE: Protections for 572,00 Granite Staters with pre-existing conditions, leading to a 136 percent increase in the uninsured rate.

• GONE: Medicaid expansion, which provides health care to 57,000 Granite Staters.

• GONE: 21,150 New Hampshire seniors will have to pay more for prescription drugs because the Medicare ‘donut hole’ will be reopened.

• GONE: 9,000 young adults in New Hampshire will no longer be able to stay on their parents’ insurance.

• GONE: Women will again face discrimination as insurance companies will be able to charge women 50 percent more than men.

• GONE: Financial assistance will be gone for 9 million Americans who need it to purchase their health care.

• GONE: Key support for rural hospitals. As Americans lose coverage, already struggling hospitals will be hit even harder as their costs increase.

• GONE: Ban on insurance companies having lifetime caps on coverage.

• GONE: Requirements that insurance companies cover prescription drugs and maternity care.

NHDP Chair Ray Buckley released the following statement:

“Tens of thousands of Granite Staters could lose their health care and still, Chris Sununu is failing to take action, and refusing to join 21 other states who have signed on to a lawsuit to protect the Affordable Care Act. Instead, Sununu is signing onto Trump’s plan to end protections for patients for pre-existing conditions and once again allow the insurance companies to deny coverage, discriminate, and jack up rates. Sununu can talk all he wants about the benefits of Medicaid expansion, but if he he does not act soon to save it, everyone in New Hampshire will know that it was his fault, and his complicity, that allowed Trump to destroy our health care.”

Twenty one states are leading the lawsuit to protect the Affordable Care Act and protections for pre-existing conditions, including four states with Republican Governors (Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, and Vermont). Governor Sununu has not directed his Attorney General to join this lawsuit, or taken literally any other action to oppose the Trump administration's efforts to end these protections, Medicaid expansion, and guaranteed coverage of essential health benefits.

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