COVID-19 is putting a spotlight on our nation’s healthcare system—exposing both the ways in which programs that serve older adults are essential and the gaps. In particular, the pandemic is emphasizing how older adults’ lives are at stake in California v. Texas, when the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether to uphold the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Today, 18 states, led by Texas and the Trump Administration, submitted briefs asking the Supreme Court to strike down the ACA as unconstitutional.

Justice in Aging’s new fact sheet outlines the ways the ACA is acting as a lifeline for older adults during this pandemic. It ensures that more older adults have health insurance coverage, expands access to home and community-based services (HCBS), and prevents discrimination based on age and disability.

Eliminating the ACA’s Medicaid expansion and anti-discrimination protections would exacerbate the devastating effects of systemic racism that are causing older adults of color who to contract and die from COVID-19 at disproportionate rates.

For more on what’s at risk for low-income older adults if the ACA is struck down read our amicus brief and our 10-Year Checkup Issue Brief.

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