Thirteen years ago today, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law, which lowered health care costs for millions of Americans, ensured South Carolinians with preexisting conditions could get coverage, let kids stay on their parents’ health insurance until age 26, and more. Despite the ACA’s historic achievements, South Carolina Republicans like Nikki Haley and Tim Scott have a track record of trying to undermine the law and roll back its protections.
“The Affordable Care Act has been a lifeline for families across South Carolina for over a decade, enabling those with preexisting conditions, those under the age of 26, and more to access the health care they need. Despite these critical achievements, Republicans like Nikki Haley and Tim Scott have been relentless in their efforts to repeal the law,” said South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Trav Robertson. “Haley and Scott are so focused on pushing their extreme MAGA agenda that they’re willing to raise costs and take away South Carolinians’ health care in the process.”
As governor, Nikki Haley repeatedly “put her foot down on progress” when it came to lowering costs and expanding access to health care:
- Haley refused to implement health insurance exchanges in South Carolina that would help residents compare private insurance costs to the ACA marketplace and ensure they were paying the lowest cost for value.
- Haley was also one of only a handful of extreme governors who refused to expand Medicaid under the ACA which could have provided 340,000 eligible South Carolinians with access to coverage.
In the Senate, Tim Scott stood hand in hand with his MAGA colleagues and tried to undo the progress achieved under the Affordable Care Act:
- Scott voted repeatedly to repeal the ACA in Congress.
- Scott even doubled down on calling for states to not expand Medicaid, calling the states that did so fiscally irresponsible.
