Brad’s Bad on Healthcare Consumer Protection

MADISON, Wis. — If Wisconsinites lose protections from insurance companies charging them more for their healthcare because of a pre-existing condition or from dropping their coverage if they get sick, it could be Attorney General Brad Schimel’s fault. That’s because Schimel is part of a lawsuit filed in Texas that legal observers are warning could result in the Affordable Care Act being struck down, and with it the repeal of protections for consumers from insurance company abuses.

“What in the world is Brad Schimel doing?,” asked One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross. “He won’t hold big drug companies fueling the opioid crisis accountable in court but he’s suing to undo the law that protects people from insurance company abuses.”

In February, Schimel bragged that he had joined in partisan political legal action seeking to have a court in Texas strike down the entire Affordable Care Act. Now, according to a report in the Washington Post, Donald Trump’s Department of Justice is refusing to act to try to protect the law. Legal observers are warning that the entire Affordable Care Act is at risk of being struck down and critical consumer protections would be lost. The legal shenanigans of Schimel and other Republicans are also creating uncertainty for insurers and could hurt consumers.

Ross concluded, “Brad’s bad at protecting healthcare consumers. His rabid partisanship and ill considered lawsuit could do very real damage, leaving Wisconsinites paying more for insurance because of a pre-existing condition or even losing coverage when they get sick.”