Obama calls for protecting ObamaCare ahead of Supreme Court battle

Former President Obama is defending the Affordable Care Act ahead of a Supreme Court battle that threatens to overturn his signature domestic legislation. 

“It’s been 10 years since we passed the Affordable Care Act. With your help, it’s the closest we’ve ever come to universal coverage in America,” Obama said in a 90-second video released by the liberal advocacy group Protect Our Care on Monday. “There are people alive today because of what you did.” 

Obama also highlighted Democratic wins in the 2018 midterm elections that helped protect his landmark legislation, also known as ObamaCare. 

But he noted that even with a Democratic-controlled House, Republicans “will keep trying both in Congress and in the courts to rip away the care that millions of Americans rely on.” 

“So even as we celebrate, we commit ourselves to protecting the progress we’ve made until we finish the job for good with quality affordable coverage for every single American,” Obama said. 

The Supreme Court last week announced that it will take up a case seeking to overturn the health care legislation. The case will be heard in the court’s next term, which starts in October, meaning a decision is not expected until after the November elections. 

The fate of the bill will loom over the 2020 elections, as Democrats look to take control of the White House, the Senate and keep their majority in the House. 

Former Vice President Joe Biden, who has touted what he said was his help in passing ObamaCare, has said he will commit to protecting and building on the legislation if elected. 

Biden’s leading Democratic presidential primary opponent, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), however, has said he would replace the Affordable Care Act with his “Medicare for All” proposal. Sanders’s overhaul would create a single-payer system that would eliminate private health insurance. 

Obama himself called Medicare for All a “good” idea in 2018 when campaigning for Democrats during the midterm elections. 

Along with the launch of the video featuring Obama, Protect Our Care is launching a multistate bus tour to visit the 2020 battleground states of Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. 

The tour kicks off Sunday in St. Paul, Minn. It also includes a stop in Washington, D.C., on March 23 where Obama, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and health care leaders will hold a panel discussion to mark the 10th anniversary of the signing of ObamaCare.