The more you understand about primary immunodeficiency (PI), the better you can live with the disease or support others in your life with PI. Learn more about PI, including the various diagnoses and treatment options.
Living with primary immunodeficiency (PI) can be challenging, but you’re not alone—many people with PI lead full and active lives. With the right support and resources, you can, too.
Be a hero for those with PI. Change lives by promoting primary immunodeficiency (PI) awareness and taking action in your community through advocacy, donating, volunteering, or fundraising.
Whether you’re a clinician, researcher, or an individual with primary immunodeficiency (PI), IDF has resources to help you advance the field. Get details on surveys, grants, and clinical trials.
On Friday, December 14, a federal judge in Texas issued a ruling that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is unconstitutional. While the thought of losing numerous patient protections under the ACA is extremely concerning, it is not time to panic.
In 2017, Congress passed H.R. 1, a major overhaul to the nation’s tax code. Included in that law was a repeal of the ACA’s individual mandate, the piece of the law which required people to obtain health insurance. Eight state attorneys general and two governors then filed a lawsuit saying that because Congress repealed the individual mandate, the rest of the ACA cannot stand on its own and is unconstitutional. On December 14, U.S. District Court Judge Reed O'Connor in Texas agreed. Judge O’Connor, however, did not issue an injunction barring enforcement of the law. Therefore, the ACA remains in place while the case is appealed.
A handful of states that support the ACA have already spoken up in this case and will appeal the judge’s ruling. That could land the case in the Supreme Court, where the Justices would once again decide the fate of the ACA. Regardless of where it lands, this process will take time, so it is not expected that any of the ACA provisions will be halted immediately.
Starting in January, the House of Representatives will be controlled by Democrats, who are by-and-large supporters of the ACA. House Democrats have already vowed to legislate and/or send counsel to court in order to reverse this ruling, and Senate Democrats have also announced plans to push for a vote to intervene in the case.
The ACA did many things, such as set up state and federal “Exchanges” for buying health insurance, banned denials based on pre-existing conditions and limited out-of-pocket costs for patients. However, it was a nearly 1,000-page law that also did many lesser known or recognized things, many of which have been implemented for over eight years now. Those will not feasibly be reversed overnight, and there will be many invested in the status quo those provisions have created and who will push back, even if they originally did not support the law.
IDF joined more than 30 other patient groups in a statement on December 17 expressing the importance of things, like pre-existing conditions protections for our patients, and concern that this ruling would take those away. IDF will continue to engage with our community and with other patient groups to ensure that everyone has access to the coverage and care that they need.
To be alerted when your help is needed in preserving vital patient protections afforded by the ACA, sign up for IDF Action Alerts today.
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