HOUSE RESOLUTION 22

(By Delegates Walker, Angelucci, Bates, Brown, S., Byrd, Doyle, Estep-Burton, Fleischauer, Fluharty, Hansen, Hornbuckle, Longstreth, Miller, Pushkin, Pyles, Robinson, Rowe, Skaff, Staggers, Tomblin, Williams, and Zukoff)

[Introduced March 9, 2019]

Urging the West Virginia House of Delegates to affirm its support of the protections for West Virginia consumers with preexisting conditions and other patient protections in the Affordable Care Act; calls on Attorney General Morrisey to withdraw from the lawsuit; and calls on the West Virginia Legislature to pass state-level protections in the event these provisions are overturned at the federal level.

Whereas, There are 740,000 individuals living with a preexisting condition in West Virginia– including 90,600 children; and

Whereas, Nearly one out of four West Virginia adults under age 50 (181,000) have anxiety, depression, or other mental health conditions; and

Whereas, There are 26,000 West Virginia cancer survivors under age 60, including adults and children; and

Whereas, Virtually any health condition that a West Virginian had before joining a health plan could lead to a preexisting condition exclusion, denial of coverage, or price increase, including high blood pressure or cholesterol, diabetes, asthma, and obesity; and

Whereas, There were 540,000 West Virginians enrolled in Medicaid/CHIP in October 2018; and

Whereas, There are more than 410,000 West Virginians enrolled in Medicare; and

Whereas, Attorneys General from 18 states including West Virginia have filed suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, arguing that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional; and

Whereas, This lawsuit puts protections for West Virginians with preexisting conditions at risk in the event they need to purchase their own coverage and the 154,000 West Virginians enrolled (as of December 2018) in the Medicaid Expansion could lose coverage, and threatens all West Virginians who benefit from improvements to Medicare, including reduced costs to seniors for prescription drugs; and

Whereas, On June 7, 2018, the United States Department of Justice refused to defend the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, despite the well-established duty of the department to defend federal statutes where reasonable arguments can be made in their defense.

Resolved by the House of Delegates:

That the West Virginia House of Delegates affirm its support of the protections for West Virginia consumers with preexisting conditions and other patient protections in the Affordable Care Act; and calls on Attorney General Morrisey to withdraw from the lawsuit; and calls on the West Virginia Legislature to pass state-level protections in the event these provisions are overturned at the federal level.

Further Resolved,

That the Clerk of the House of Delegates is hereby directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the President of the West Virginia Senate, the Attorney General, and the Governor of West Virginia.