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Atlanta, Georgia – Statement by Laura Colbert, Executive Director of Georgians for a Healthy Future, regarding today’s ruling by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in the Texas v. U.S lawsuit.

The lawsuit seeks to invalidate the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Georgia is a plaintiff in the case.

“Today’s ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court declaring the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate unconstitutional and remanding the law back to District Court only serves to prolong Georgians’ uncertainty about their access to quality, affordable health care.

“More than 480,000 Georgians enrolled in health coverage through the ACA’s marketplace in 2019 and nine in 10 benefit from financial help to reduce their costs. Many, many more Georgians benefit from the standards and protections put in place by the ACA.

“As long as the court continues to entertain this legally dubious case, thousands of Georgians are at risk of losing their health coverage, protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and access to basic health services like mental health care and prescription drugs. Revoking the ACA’s protections and disentangling the law from Georgia’s health care system would only serve to sow chaos and confusion, to the detriment of Georgia families. These losses would disproportionately affect Georgians of color who already face inequitable barriers to care.

“The support of this lawsuit by Georgia Governor Kemp and Attorney General Carr is incongruent with their respective statements about increasing access to care and improving affordability for Georgia families and individuals. We urge Georgia leaders to re-consider their support of this case.

“It is important for Georgia consumers to know that this does not change the coverage they have today or their 2020 insurance plans. Georgians should maintain their health coverage and seek help at healthcare.gov if a life change results in a loss of their current coverage.”

For more information about Georgia consumers and Georgia’s ACA marketplace: Getting Georgia Covered: What we can learn from the 6th open enrollment period

About GHF:

With a mission to build and mobilize a unified voice, vision, and leadership to achieve a healthy future for all Georgians, Georgians for a Healthy Future provides a strong voice for Georgia consumers and communities on the health care issues and decisions that impact their lives. Georgians for a Healthy Future has a three-pronged approach which includes: 1) outreach, education, and engagement with consumers and communities; 2) coalition building and mobilization; and 3) public policy advocacy. For more information, visit www.healthyfuturega.org.