A new study from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that roughly 27 million Americans have likely lost employer-sponsored health insurance in recent months due to the coronavirus pandemic. But even as unemployment reaches levels not seen since the Great Depression, President Trump and his GOP allies are continuing their assault on the Affordable Care Act and the protections it provides for millions of North Carolinians. 

Last week, Trump vowed to “terminate healthcare under Obamacare” if he is reelected with a Republican majority in Congress. But while some Republicans have publicly disagreed with Trump’s dangerous strategy, others like Senator Thom Tillis have remained silent on the issue, which could impact millions of people across the state. 

In North Carolina alone, beneficiaries of the ACA include: 

• 4.1 million individuals with pre-existing conditions; 
• 1.8 million seniors on Medicare in the state who depend on lower drug prices provided through the ACA;
• More than 500,000 people who have purchased insurance through the federal exchange; and
• 400,000 people who receive tax subsidies to help them purchase health insurance.

“If President Trump was genuinely interested in protecting working families struggling during this crisis, he would direct his administration to end this dangerous, partisan attempt to undo a law that supports millions of North Carolinians,” said NCDP Chairman and former State Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin. “The figures in this new report are a staggering reminder of how essential health insurance is in our daily lives. To seek to throw people off their insurance — during a public health crisis, no less — is a reckless move that only makes our communities more susceptible to the coronavirus pandemic.”