BRUNSWICK, ME – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) joined Protect Our Care and Maine parents and patients for a virtual conversation to discuss the harm that a repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) could have on hundreds of thousands of Maine people. The conversation comes as the Supreme Court is set to hear arguments one week after the election – in a case rooted in provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 – that could eliminate healthcare protections for families that rely on them.

“The Affordable Care Act has helped hundreds of thousands of Maine residents access affordable healthcare and secure protections for pre-existing health conditions – but right now, the law is under attack,” said Senator King. “Just one week after the election, President Trump’s Justice Department will ask the Supreme Court to completely eliminate this law and all its vital healthcare protections – with no backup plan, in the middle of a global pandemic. On top of all that, President and his congressional allies are trying to jam through a new Supreme Court justice who may well be the deciding vote. The stakes are clear, and they couldn’t be higher – which is why I won’t stop fighting to protect the ACA and the healthcare of the hundreds of thousands of Maine people that rely on it."

Last week, Senator King launched a portal on his website seeking feedback from Maine people on their experiences with the ACA, in an effort to inform his work in Congress to protect the law from legal threats. He also published an op-ed in the Portland Press Herald and the Bangor Daily News, emphasizing the harm that may be done to hundreds of thousands of Maine people if a Supreme Court Justice – who may be the deciding vote on this case – is rushed through before the election. The Affordable Care Act has been upheld as constitutional twice by the Supreme Court; this case, California v. Texas, hinges on a provision in the deeply misguided 2017 tax bill.

Senator King has been a vocal proponent of protecting and improving the Affordable Care Act, which has helped millions of Americans access healthcare. In July 2018, Senator King joined a group of his colleagues to introduce a resolution that would have authorized the Senate Legal Counsel to intervene in Texas v. United States, and in December 2018 he joined a group of Senate colleagues to call on President Trump to condemn the resulting decision in the case. He has also fought the Administration’s various attempts to sabotage the healthcare law, urged Maine people to sign up for health insurance during the shortened Open Enrollment period, and met with Maine people around the state to discuss the ACA’s importance to their lives.