PORTLAND, Maine — More Mainers are speaking out against the federal court ruling last week that said the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional. The issue matters to many people. According to the Maine Bureau of Insurance, more than 75:000 Maine residents get their health insurance through the ACA exchange.
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree and other Affordable Care Act supporters had harsh criticism on Tuesday for the ruling by the Texas judge. They also criticized Republicans—including Senator Susan Collins—for allowing the party to attack the ACA. Pingree said the GOP has been trying “to destroy the health care system” through its attacks on the Act.
Some blamed Collins for a vote last year on a tax bill they claim is hurting the health care law. Collins was praised in 2017 for helping to block efforts to repeal the ACA. But the critics claim her vote to pass the tax bill, which eliminated the mandate for those who do not buy health insurance to pay a tax penalty, led to the recent court ruling. One of those critics was Portland restaurant owner Briana Volk, who says she uses the ACA herself.
“The only reason the Affordable Care Act is seen to be faltering IS the current administration from President Trump on down to Senator Collins. They have sown doubt and uncertainty to undermine the ACA,” Volk said.
Congresswoman Pingree did not specifically criticize Collins but said all Republicans are to blame. She said there will be increased pressure on them to support the law.
“For me, I can say this is a wake-up call to Republicans generally, whether in House or Senate, and if they will stand by their promise to make sure everyone has access to affordable health care they will have to take back some things they voted for in the past.”
Senator Collins said Monday that she expects the court ruling will be overturned on appeal, On Tuesday, she answered the critics who claim her tax vote led to the Texas court ruling. Collins said the individual mandate tax primarily hit low and middle-income people.
“When it was on the books, 80 percent of the people who paid this fine earned less than $50,000 per year. Not a single Democrat offered an amendment to keep it in place when they had the opportunity to do so,” Collins said in a written statement.