U.S. Sen. Bob Casey warns that Obamacare is in 'mortal danger' with Barrett nomination

Like many seniors, Barbara Cisek faces a slew of health issues and financial strains already, and she’s worried things will only get worse if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the Affordable Care Act.

“The bills just keep coming and coming,” said Cisek, a 74-year-old widowed Indiana Township, Allegheny County, resident on a conference call with U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, and others Wednesday to discuss the ACA’s future under a Supreme Court with a possible 6-3 Republican majority.

Cisek, who previously testified before a Senate committee at Casey’s request, said the COVID-19 pandemic has isolated her and changed her life.

“The one thing that hasn’t changed is the high cost of my prescription drugs,” said Cisek, who said she pays $500 per month for medications in addition to premiums for Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans.

Casey said the ACA “is now in mortal danger” with Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court virtually assured by the GOP-controlled Senate. President Donald Trump and other Republicans have failed to overturn the ACA -- or Obamacare -- legislatively “so now they’re trying to destroy the Affordable Care Act with an appointment to the Supreme Court,” he said.

In southwestern Pennsylvania, Casey said that more than 209,000 people in a 15-county area will lose coverage if the ACA is overturned by the court, which is scheduled to hear arguments on Nov. 10 on the ACA's constitutionality.

Casey also said that “hundreds of thousands” of Pennsylvania residents will lose protections for pre-existing conditions and pay more for prescription drugs if the ACA is abolished and the so-called “donut hole” is reopened.

“That kind of help will go away for seniors,” he said.

Rich Fiesta, the executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans and a Fayette County native, said the elimination of the ACA would have a “devastating” impact on members of his group.

“Repealing the Affordable Care Act would not help us cure and prevent a lot of diseases for older Pennsylvanians,” Fiesta said.

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Dr. Inmaculada Hernandez, an assistant professor of pharmacy and therapeutics at the University of Pittsburgh, said surveys show that 70 percent of Americans already say drug prices are “unreasonable” and those costs would invariably rise without the ACA.

The overturning of the ACA “would result in large increases in out-of-pocket costs for Medicare beneficiaries,” she said.

Asked about promises from Trump and other Republicans to protect Americans under yet-to-be revealed replacement plans, Casey said they could have passed something, but have not done so.

“It’s really been insulting, it’s just plain insulting to the American people,” Casey said.

Trump, Casey said, has been in office for four years and not offered a replacement plan while fighting to overturn the ACA. “He keeps promising he’s going to do it and he never has and he never will,” said Casey.