Senator Murray Statement on New Ruling Striking Down ACA's Requirement to Cover Cancer Screenings, PrEP, & Other Essential Preventive Care

Statement

"This is a downright dangerous decision that, if left to stand, will deny patients in every part of our country the ability to get the basic health care services they count on--we're talking about everything from cancer and cholesterol screenings to STI testing, HIV prevention drugs, and more.

"This decision should enrage every American.

"More than a decade after we passed the ACA, Republican interests are still working around the clock to roll back critical protections for patients--and this decision is just the latest in their slew of attacks on Americans' ability to simply get the health care they need.

"Shredding the Affordable Care Act's requirement that insurers cover basic preventative care services at no extra cost will deny patients across our country critical, lifesaving services they need--and it will particularly hurt patients with the tightest budgets, as well as LGBTQ+ patients who count on medications like PrEP to keep them healthy and safe.

"The Affordable Care Act's protections have repeatedly been upheld in the face of nonstop attacks--and yet Republicans keep fighting to deny patients these deeply popular and necessary protections.

"But make no mistake: these rights should not even be in question. Patients should be able to make their own health care decisions--not their employers, not their insurers, and certainly not Republican interests. Every American's right to access free preventive care is guaranteed under the ACA. So let's be clear: as Republicans work to rip your health care away, Democrats will keep fighting to protect it--the difference could not be more clear. I am not new to this fight, and I have no intention of backing down now."

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