RICHMOND, VA - A Republican controlled federal appeals court struck down a key part of the Affordable Care Act yesterday, ruling in a case that seeks to invalidate the entire ACA brought by Republican state attorneys general. The judges sent the case back to a lower court to determine whether the entire law - which gives health care to tens of millions of Americans - can be overturned.

The lawsuit has had the enthusiastic support of Donald Trump even though he has long promised to deliver affordable health care for all. He celebrated last night's decision as a win despite the fact that the lawsuit could leave millions of Americans uninsured and put their health at risk. 

In Virginia specifically, repeal of the ACA would strip away the recently passed Medicaid expansion, which has already provided nearly 350,000 Virginians with affordable coverage. In total, 642,000 Virginians could lose health care if the law is overturned and nearly 3.5 million Virginians would see their protections for preexisting conditions disappear, leaving them vulnerable to getting dropped by their insurers altogether. The result would be more expensive health coverage - including more expensive prescription drugs - for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable Virginians.

"While Trump promised to make health care more affordable, he's been working to take health care away from millions of Americans since day one of his presidency. This lawsuit will put lives at risk and make health care unaffordable for hundreds of thousands of Virginians while boosting the profits of big drug companies and insurers. And that's exactly what Donald Trump and every Republican who supports him want," said DPVA Press Secretary Grant Fox.  

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