On Virtual Event Today, Hickenlooper and Coloradans Who Rely on ACA Discussed How SCOTUS Vacancy Raises Stakes for GOP’s Lawsuit Against Their Care
During a virtual event this morning, John Hickenlooper unveiled a new TV ad titled “We Know” in which cancer survivor Jeanne Swaim shares her story of battling cancer while Senator Cory Gardner was voting to rip away her health care coverage.
During the event, Coloradans who rely on the Affordable Care Act shared what it would mean if the U.S Supreme Court abolished the ACA. The Court will consider the GOP’s lawsuit to overturn the health care law one week after the election. That could mean an end to the Medicaid expansion Hickenlooper spearheaded as Governor and protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
Senator Cory Gardner is still on TV touting a one-sentence bill that does not cover people with pre-existing conditions — a disingenuous attempt to distract from his decade-long record of voting to destroy the ACA.
“Health care has been on the ballot this entire campaign. But with Justice Ginsburg’s passing — and Cory Gardner and Mitch McConnell’s determination to push through a right-wing judge before the election — the stakes just got even higher,” said Hickenlooper. “They’re trying to do through the Courts what they failed at in Congress.”
“When I saw [Gardner’s] ad I was shocked,” said cancer survivor Jeanne Swaim. “[His bill is] the size of a sticky note — it has no teeth. I’ve already had the need for additional care because of my pre-existing condition — obviously an insurance company will look at me and surmise that I’ll be more expensive to cover. This bill doesn’t do anything to protect me from future costs.”
“Being able to get Medicaid and benefit from its support helped me not only as a young person but also as a first-time mom,” said Danielle Rowles, who has health care through Medicaid. “Being able to have that was so much of a relief — to know I was covered, my kids were covered. Even today with the pandemic, it’s good to know that my kids and I can still get the coverage we need even though I’ve lost my job to the pandemic. It’s hard to imagine where I’d be without it. Especially being pregnant now, I can’t imagine what I’d do if I didn’t have that option.”
“I wouldn’t have been able to get Medicaid without Governor Hickenlooper’s expansion,” said Ray Washington, who has health care through Colorado’s Medicaid expansion. “Since I’ve been on Medicaid and started accessing the healthcare system, I’ve been diagnosed with multiple myeloma. For me today, given everything I’m going through, and what I’m told I will need to go through, I can’t even entertain the thought of not having health care. So that’s something that’s grown very near and dear to me. So it’s now part of my life to get out and do outreach for voter reg and voting. Because I think it’s important that this act can’t be overturned. We need to get out and do what we can to ensure that this doesn’t take place.”
“What Gardner is doing in D.C. is hurting my patients and my community,” said state Rep. Kyle Mullica, a registered nurse. “You shouldn’t go bankrupt or lose your house because you get sick. Let’s be clear. When you vote nine times to eliminate the ACA, this is what you’re voting for. Hick has a record — a record of fighting to ensure that high quality, affordable healthcare is available to everyone.”
Watch Hickenlooper for Colorado’s new ad featuring Jeanne’s powerful story HERE or below.
Transcript:
I’m John Hickenlooper and I approve this message.
I was battling cancer when Cory Gardner voted to repeal Obamacare, and it was scary.
Fighting cancer and watching my own Senator vote to take health care away from me.
Now I see Cory Gardner’s ads and I’m disgusted.
Pretending he’s going to protect me? Cory Gardner, you voted 9 times to gut protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
There are 2.4 million of us in Colorado and we know the truth.
