In a report released Wednesday, House Democrats warn that if a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Obamacare succeeds, up to 15.6 million Americans could lose health coverage or face premium increases. The Trump administration decided not to defend Obamacare protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions in the suit.
The report, released by the Democratic staff of the House Oversight Committee, estimates that just over 10 million people in the individual market for insurance have pre-existing health conditions, including 4.8 million who have conditions severe enough that insurers might deny them coverage altogether if the lawsuit succeeds. The report also found that as many as 9.4 million women and nearly 6.7 million Americans between the ages of 50 and 64 could be hurt by a loss of federal protections against gender or age-based denials of coverage or premium increases.
President Trump insists that Republicans “will totally protect” people with pre-existing conditions, but fact-checkers have taken issue with that claim, pointing to the GOP’s Obamacare repeal efforts and the administration’s support for the lawsuit seeking to overturn such protections.
