As the US Supreme Court hears argument in California v. Texas a challenge to the Affordable Care Act the outcome will have a profound impact on more than 20 million people who have access to health insurance thanks to this law. Our LGBTQ community & people living with HIV have an important stake in the outcome of this case. It will be the most vulnerable Americans who stand to lose the most if the ACA is overturned including our LGBTQ community, communities of color & people with disabilities that have spent the past decade making progress toward increased health coverage, lowered medical expenses, protection for preexisting conditions & the added nondiscrimination protections the Affordable Care Act provides. Overturning the law would not only jeopardize health insurance for 20 million Americans it will also strip away protections for an estimated 135 million Americans with preexisting conditions in the middle of the wrath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Caroline Medina, Policy Analyst for the LGBTQ Research & Communications Project at Center for American Progress stated, “Despite crucial gains in health coverage & benefits for LGBTQ communities under the ACA, transgender adults—particularly transgender people of color—continue to face substantial & unique discriminatory barriers to accessing health insurance & services. Our data reveal both the depth of harm that LGBTQ Americans would encounter under the ACA’s repeal as well as the need to continue combating discrimination in health care settings. At this critical juncture, the ACA’s protections should be expanded, not undermined.” In the midst of a change of Presidential Leadership with a questionable last ditch appointment of Amy Coney Barrett replacing Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, this is just another embarrassment to this country & its citizens.
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