SAN DIEGO — Rep. Susan Davis, D-San Diego, called on federal officials to maintain current health care coverage protections for pre-existing conditions.
According to Davis, roughly half of San Diego residents have at least one pre-existing medical condition that would preclude them from receiving health care if current federal protections were repealed. Davis held a news conference and roundtable discussion with local health care leaders and patients on the importance of covering pre-existing conditions.
Last month, Davis voted in favor of a bill in the House of Representatives she argued would block the Trump administration from dismantling the Affordable Care Act, which ensures that people cannot be denied health care coverage due to a pre-existing condition.
The vote came roughly six weeks after the Department of Justice under President Donald Trump affirmed the administration's support of a U.S. district court ruling earlier this year that invalidated the entirety of former President Barack Obama's signature health care law.
"I regularly hear from constituents with pre-existing conditions who fear losing their health insurance," Davis said in a statement after the vote. "Creating a health care system where Americans with pre-existing conditions could obtain health insurance was a key provision of the ACA. We must preserve these protections."
Davis met with executives from the Hospital Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties and Health Center Partners of Southern California during the discussion.