About the Plaintiffs
Association for Community Affiliated Plans | National Alliance on Mental Illness | Mental Health America | American Psychiatric Association | AIDS United | National Partnership for Women & Families | Little Lobbyists
The Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP) represents 66 Safety Net Health Plans, which provide health coverage to more than 20 million people in 29 states. Safety Net Health Plans serve their members through Medicaid, Medicare, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Marketplace and other health programs. For more information, visit www.communityplans.net.
“Short-term, limited-duration health plans are like the small spare tire in a car: they get the job done for short periods of time, but they have severe limitations and lead to trouble if you drive them too fast or too long. Consumers who substitute comprehensive coverage with a STLDI plan will be rudely reintroduced to denials of care on the basis of pre-existing conditions, coverage limits and fine print should they need care in a meaningful way.” — Margaret A. Murray, CEO, Association for Community Affiliated Plans.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. Learn more: www.nami.org | facebook.com/nami | twitter.com/namicommunicate | instagram.com/namicommunicate.
“For the past 20 years, NAMI has fought for parity—the fundamental tenet that mental health care is just as important as physical health care. This rule change rolls back the clock on Congress’ bipartisan efforts to ensure patient protections and fair insurance coverage of mental illness—and will start a downward spiral that leaves people with mental health conditions right back to where we were, excluded from lifesaving healthcare.” –Mary Giliberti, CEO, National Alliance on Mental Illness
Mental Health America – founded in 1909 – is the nation’s leading community-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and to promoting the overall mental health of all Americans. Our work is driven by our commitment to promote mental health as a critical part of overall wellness, including prevention services for all, early identification and intervention for those at risk, integrated care, services, and supports for those who need it, with recovery as the goal.
“At a time when suicide and overdose deaths have hit epidemic levels and continue to rise, the last thing we need is a rule that confuses consumers and offers worse mental health and substance use benefits. The STLDI rule not only violates the intent of Congress in the ACA, it also rips away needed treatment and threatens the lives of countless Americans.” –Paul Gionfriddo, President and CEO, Mental Health America.
The American Psychiatric Association (APA), founded in 1844, is the oldest medical association in the country. The APA is also the largest psychiatric association in the world with more than 37,800 physician members specializing in the diagnosis, treatment, prevention and research of mental illnesses. APA’s vision is to ensure access to quality psychiatric diagnosis and treatment. For more information please visit www.psychiatry.org.
“The Administration’s rule harms our patients by allowing plans that deny coverage for pre-existing conditions or that discriminate against those with mental illness and substance use disorder. This rule jeopardizes the insurance coverage of many Americans with complex medical needs that require strong, predictable insurance protection and care. Without this coverage, patients with complex medical needs will suffer and often end up in emergency rooms, raising health care costs. Our lawsuit is necessary to protect our patients. We call upon the Administration to drop this rule and enforce the protections of the Affordable Care Act.” –Altha Stewart, M.D., President, American Psychiatric Association.
AIDS United has the singular mission of ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States. We work to achieve this ambitious mission through strategic grantmaking, technical assistance and capacity building services, formative research, and advocacy based on sound public policy analysis. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., AIDS United’s staff of public health and policy professionals work daily on building power for HIV efforts at national, regional, and community levels and funding initiatives for improved health outcomes for people living with HIV and prevention strategies for those most likely to be impacted by the epidemic. AIDS United’s Public Policy Council (PPC) of 47 HIV/AIDS Service organizations, national and regional coalitions is the largest and longest-running community-based HIV/AIDS domestic policy coalition in the country. For the last 35 years, the PPC has led initiatives to shape and inform federal policies that impact people living with and affected by HIV. AIDS United additionally represents more than 200 grantee and subgrantee AIDS Service Organizations serving people living with HIV throughout the United States.
“The plans and protections of the ACA have been life savers for people living with HIV. Discrimination based on pre-existing conditions including HIV was prolific before the ACA. These plans are a giant step backwards and will effectively sanction discrimination by the insurance industry and will deny access to thousands including people living with HIV. Access to essential medications for HIV treatment not only preserve individuals’ health, but achieving viral suppression through medications can also prevent new HIV infections. These short term plans are not only a threat to people with HIV, but to our the nation’s public health by making it harder to end the HIV epidemic in America.” –Jesse Milan, Jr., J.D., President & CEO, AIDS United.
The National Partnership for Women & Families is a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy group dedicated to promoting access to quality, affordable health care, reproductive health and rights, fairness in the workplace, and policies that help women and men meet the dual demands of work and family. More information is available at www.nationalpartnership.org.
“Women and families depend on quality, comprehensive health insurance. Yet the Trump administration is putting that at risk by pushing skimpy, junk plans that don’t offer the coverage we need and deserve. The National Partnership is proud to join allies in filing suit against these dangerous and discriminatory policies that undermine women’s health and economic security. We refuse to go back to a time when families were victim to predatory practices and one illness away from financial ruin.” –Debra Ness, President, National Partnership for Women & Families
Little Lobbyists is an organization working to protect and expand the rights of children with complex medical needs through advocacy, education, and outreach. The group was founded by and is led by families of children with complex medical needs and disabilities requiring specialized and ongoing health care. These families face significant challenges in caring for their children and experience first-hand the impact that federal and state laws and policies have on their lives. The mission of Little Lobbyists is to support, inform, and advocate for this growing community of families and their unique needs. For more information, please visit www.littlelobbyists.org and @LittleLobbyists on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
“Children with complex medical needs require access to affordable health insurance that covers essential health benefits, pre-existing conditions, and does not impose monetary caps on care. The ACA assures these families that any plan they buy will have these protections. The STLDI rule destroys that assurance. Those who buy these STLDI plans will have necessary care for their children go uncovered and face financial ruin. Those fortunate enough to have ACA-compliant plans will face skyrocketing premiums because of the effects of the STLDI plans on the market. Our children deserve better.” –Elena Hung, President, Little Lobbyists