CLASH LOOMING ON 0’CARE
Battle lines over Barrett
President Trump on Sunday said it would be a “big win for the USA” if the Supreme Court struck down the Affordable Care Act — while Democrats argued that his nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett was a ploy to “steal away” Americans’ health care.
“Obamacare will be replaced with a MUCH better, and FAR cheaper, alternative if it is terminated in the Supreme Court. Would be a big WIN for the USA!” the president said Sunday in a tweet.
The post came as Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer griped Trump is in a rush to get Barrett on the bench so as to kill Obamacare.
“President Trump sees a chance to fulfill his explicit mission: steal away the vital protections of the ACA from countless families that have come to rely on them for their health, their financial security, the lives of those they love,” Biden said during a news conference in his hometown of Wilmington, Del.
“There is no mystery about what’s happening here. President Trump was trying to throw out the Affordable Care Act. He’s been trying to do it for the last four years. Republican Party has been trying to eliminate it for a decade,” the former vice president continued, adding that the Supreme Court upheld the 2010 law twice.
Trump announced Barrett’s nomination to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg — the anchor of the court’s liberal wing who died Sept. 18 at the age of 87 — during a White House ceremony on Saturday.
Biden’s line of attack was repeated by other party leaders.
“What I am concerned about is anyone that President Trump would have appointed was there to undo the Affordable Care Act,” Pelosi told “State of the Union” on CNN. “That is why he was in such a hurry.”
She argued that Americans could lose health care during the coronavirus pandemic.
“What matters is what it means personally to the American people,” Pelosi said. “If you have a preexisting medical condition, that benefit will be gone. If you are a woman, you will be back to a time where being a woman is a pre-existing medical condition.”
Schumer, at a news conference later Sunday, said Barrett has condemned Chief Justice John Roberts’ 2012 vote upholding Obamacare.
“Judge Barrett strongly criticized the ruling to uphold the Affordable Care Act, claiming that if justices read the law the way she does, they would ‘have had to invalidate’ the entire health care law,” the New York Democrat said.
The Supreme Court is already scheduled to hear oral arguments on the Affordable Care Act on Nov. 10 — one week after the presidential election.
If Barrett clears the nomination process and is confirmed by Election Day — Nov. 3 — as President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell intend, she would be able to participate in the arguments on the Affordable Care Act.
Trump — who frequently campaigned on “repealing and replacing” Obamacare during his initial presidential run in 2016 — signed a series of executive orders last week to protect pre-existing conditions and introduce a number of affordable health-care options.
“We’re delivering better care with more choice at a much lower cost and working to ensure Americans have access to the care they need,” Trump said of his America-First Healthcare Plan at an event in Charlotte, NC.