PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 9, 2019
Salt Lake City, UT – Today, a federal appeals court will hear oral arguments in Texas Vs U.S. The lawsuit is backed by Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, and aims to repeal the Affordable Care Act in its entirety.
Lauren Simpson, policy director for Alliance for a Better Utah, said the following in response:
“If Reyes is successful in his ideological quest to destroy the ACA, up to 230,000 Utahns could lose their healthcare through the individual marketplace or through Medicaid. As Attorney General, Reyes is supposed to be the chief legal advocate for the people of Utah. Instead, he is misusing his platform as a public servant to pursue his own partisan interests.”
In a statement, Reyes said, “Our nation needs to focus its attention on finding real solutions to our broken healthcare system, to provide access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans. The reality is, that’s simply not happening under the unconstitutional and unsustainable Affordable Care Act (ACA)…. Utah’s executive and legislative leaders are united with our office in this effort. We look forward to assisting the Utah Legislature to prepare for this outcome and begin working now on a new system of health care…”
Simpson continued, “If Reyes truly has the support of Utah’s executive and legislative leaders, this is damning news. This would mean some lawmakers were speaking out both sides of their mouths when they publicly claimed their goal in repealing and replacing Prop 3 was to uphold the will of the people, while simultaneously supporting Reyes’ mission to repeal Medicaid expansion nationwide.
“We already know how Utahns feel about the Affordable Care Act. While Reyes has been working to dismantle the ACA, Utahns voted last November to fully expand Medicaid under the ACA. Reyes is completely at odds with the constituents he was elected to serve and protect. It is high time for him to do his job and respect the wishes of the people of Utah.”
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Alliance for a Better Utah is a good government advocacy and watchdog organization based in Salt Lake City. The organization works to improve the lives of all Utahns by ensuring balance, transparency, and accountability in Utah politics, policy, and government. More information at www.betterutah.org.