December 19, 2019
Contact: Vincent DeMarco, 410-591-9162
Statement by Vincent DeMarco,
President, Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative
On December 18 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Decision on the Affordable Care Act
“The Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative is extremely disappointed in yesterday’s 5th Circuit federal court decision that puts at risk the life-saving Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) which expanded health care coverage to millions of Americans, including hundreds of thousands of Marylanders. We call on the United States Supreme Court to ultimately do the right thing by once again upholding the ACA. Despite these health care threats led by the Trump Administration, we in Maryland are continuing to move forward. In January, through the bipartisan Maryland Easy Enrollment Health Insurance Program, Maryland will become the first state in the nation to actively use the tax system to find and enroll thousands of people who are uninsured today even though they qualify for free or low-cost health care coverage. And, we created the first in the nation Prescription Drug Affordability Board to make high-cost drugs more affordable for Marylanders. We call on Congress to follow our lead, as the U.S. House of Representatives did last week by passing the landmark Elijah Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act. ”
Last modified: December 19, 2019
