Ron DeSantis Has Always Been Against Protections for Pre-Existing Conditions

Today, a federal judge in Texas will hear the opening arguments in a lawsuit brought by Pam Bondi and the State of Florida that would gut pre-existing conditions and destroy the Affordable Care Act. As a founding member of the far right Freedom Caucus, DeSantis has long been one of the leading opponents of protections for pre-existing conditions.

“Ron DeSantis has spent his entire career in Congress working to take away health care from Floridians and gut protections for pre-existing conditions. If Ron DeSantis had his way, protections for pre-existing conditions would already be scrapped and Pam Bondi wouldn’t even need to bring this dangerous lawsuit,” said FDP Chair Terrie Rizzo.

For years, DeSantis has fought to gut protections for Floridians with pre-existing conditions. Last year, DeSantis initially withheld support from the American Health Care Act — which would have taken away health care from 24 million people — because he didn’t think it went far enough. DeSantis only voted for the bill after joining with the far-right Freedom Caucus to push for changes to allow insurers to charge more for people with pre-existing conditions.

DeSantis has consistently opposed the Affordable Care Act’s “essential health benefits” — which ensure that insurance companies cannot sell junk plans or discriminate based on pre-existing conditions. Last summer, DeSantis supported the Cruz Amendment, which would have gutted essential health benefits, “undermine[d] protections for those with preexisting conditions,” and lead to “widespread terminations in coverage,” according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.