Today, the latest attempt by the Trump administration to repeal the Affordable Care Act will unfold at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans, where oral arguments in Texas v. Azar will be heard. The case threatens the future of the ACA, which provides health care to millions of Americans.

AFSCME President Lee Saunders issued the following statement in response to this most recent effort to kick millions of Americans off their health care:

“This case threatens to roll back the progress we’ve made, returning to a time when insurance companies could impose lifetime caps and discriminate against women, older Americans and people with preexisting conditions,” said Saunders. “Health care is a right and not a privilege. It’s time to protect and expand that right for everyone.”

In December 2018, a federal judge in Texas ruled the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional after finding its individual mandate to be unconstitutional. The individual mandate is the part of the law that requires every taxpaying American to buy health insurance. That decision was, according to many across the political spectrum, a huge misstep.

Today’s arguments will determine whether that lower court decision is overturned.

The November 2018 elections affirmed the fact that people want the Affordable Care Act — also known as Obamacare — strengthened and to give more people access to the health care they need. Repealing the law, which is now woven indelibly into the fabric of the American health care system, would be devastating, leaving millions without coverage, and would result, according to some, in chaos.