US Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris on Tuesday spoke out against taking down the Affordable Care Act in the US, saying dismantling the Act would take the country 'backwards'.
During remarks on Tuesday in Wilmington, Delaware, Harris further said that every vote for President-elect Joe Biden was a statement that health care in America should be a right and not a privilege.
"I know we all know that we just had an election in America. An election where health care was very much on the ballot. Our country had a clear choice in this election. Each and every vote for Joe Biden was a statement that health care in America should be a right and not a privilege. Each and every vote for Joe Biden was a vote to protect and expand the Affordable Care Act. Not to tear it away in the midst of a global pandemic," Harris said.
Earlier Tuesday, Supreme Court heard oral arguments from opponents of the health care program, who argued the 10-year-old statute was rendered unconstitutional in its entirety when Congress dialed down to zero a penalty on those remaining uninsured. According to CNN, the case that seeks to overturn the landmark health reform law.
"Today the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that could strike down the Affordable Care Act in its entirety. If the Supreme Court agrees with the opponents of the act, their decision could take health care away from 20 million Americans. It could take away protections from more than 100 million people with pre-existing conditions in our country, and hurt the millions of Americans who have come to rely on the Affordable Care Act, getting rid of the Affordable Care Act will take us backwards."
She further said that the removal of the Act will take the country back to a time where people could charge more from a woman than a man, and where pregnancy would be considered as a "pre-existing condition", adding that it will deprive women from free birth control and contraceptive coverage.
"This is all happening when our country is suffering through a pandemic that has claimed more than 238,000 lives, and we all know that if the Affordable Care Act is struck down communities of color would be hit particularly hard," Harris added.
The Trump administration and several Republican-led states are asking the court to strike down the law, 10 years after it was passed, potentially impacting millions of Americans.
( With inputs from ANI )
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