AG Candidate Tallian Pledges to Protect Hoosier Healthcare from Republican Attacks in Midst of COVID-19 Outbreak

A group of Republican State Attorneys General are attempting to strip 20 million Americans of their healthcare right in the middle of an unprecedented global pandemic. 

On Monday, the 10th Anniversary of the landmark Affordable Care Act, State Senator Karen Tallian (D-Ogden Dunes) pledged to protect the healthcare of Hoosiers as she runs to be Indiana’s next Attorney General.

“The Affordable Care Act has saved the lives of more Hoosiers than any other piece of legislation in generations, “ Sen. Tallian said. “I pledge to use the full weight and authority of my office as Attorney General to fight to protect the Affordable Care Act once I am elected.”

The ACA, also known as “Obamacare,” was signed into law by President Barack Obama 10 years ago today, March 23, 2010. Since then, 20 million Americans, including nearly 1.7 million Hoosiers, have received health coverage through the ACA. 

Despite this, the ACA has been the target of non-stop partisan attacks from right-wing special interest groups since it first became law, including over 70 failed attempts by Congressional Republicans to repeal the law. 

Now, the ACA is in jeopardy because of a lawsuit led by a group of Republican State Attorneys General – including Indiana’s current Attorney General Curtis Hill.

“We already knew healthcare was on the ballot this year, but now the stakes are even higher than before, especially for all the countless Hoosiers who depend on the Affordable Care Act for their healthcare,” Sen. Tallian said. “Congressional Republicans wasted tens of millions of taxpayer dollars in their repeated, failed attempts to repeal Obamacare, now a group of Republican Attorneys General are attempting to sneak through the back door and kill it with a lawsuit. This is absolutely shameful.”

Not a single one of the Republican AGs leading the suit has withdrawn their support since the COVID-19 outbreak began. The Supreme Court, with its newly-solidified conservative majority, is set to decide the ACA’s fate sometime this term.

“I can’t imagine why anyone would want to push millions of people out of their healthcare in the middle of a global pandemic, but that’s the reality we’re facing today,” Sen. Tallian said. “This isn’t just a political issue – for many Hoosiers this could be a matter of life or death.”