One week after the general election, the Supreme Court will take on a case that could eliminate components of the Affordable Care Act, or strike it down altogether. Democrats in the General Assembly have introduced legislation that would keep protections in place if that happens.

Governor Tom Wolf stood with several Democratic members of the state Legislature in Bucks County Tuesday morning to stress the importance of the Affordable Care Act and the coverage it offers. They say if the lawsuits attempting to dismantle the ACA are successful, more than 5 million Pennsylvanians could lose coverage.

“This is an existential decision that our folks in Washington are making. We need to make sure that they make the right decision,” says Governor Wolf. “We cannot afford as Pennsylvanians, as Americans, to move away from affordable health care,” he adds.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments regarding the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. This after a 2018 ruling by U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Texas declared the ACA unconstitutional. He ruled in favor of the GOP attorneys general arguing the case, saying without a penalty, the requirement to buy health insurance is unconstitutional. That ruling was appealed to a 5th-circuit court of appeals in New Orleans, which agreed with Judge O’Connor’s ruling, for the most part. That panel suggested only that part of the ACA was unconstitutional, and that the entire law didn’t need to be struck down. That ruling sent the case back to Judge O’Connor. But in order to get a quicker and more definite ruling on the matter, the group defending the ACA urged the United States Supreme Court to take on the case instead. Oral arguments will take place on November 10th, just one week after the election.

The ACA is being defended by a group of Democratic attorneys general, including Pennsylvania’s AG Josh Shapiro. If the Justices rule in favor of the lawsuit, which is backed by the Trump Administration, and overturn the ACA, at least 20 million Americans with could lose coverage immediately.

“Do we want to go backward? Do we really want to go back and throw all those folks off of health care and put them back into the emergency room as their primary care physician,” says Sen. Steve Santarsiero (D- Bucks). “It is not only inherently unfair, and I would argue a fundamental violation of their rights for healthcare, but it’s just dumb from a policy standpoint,” he adds.

Anna Payne, a resident of Bucks County, battles her diagnosis of Cystic Fibrosis every day. Prior to the ACA, insurance companies wouldn’t cover her because of her pre-existing condition. She could face the same fate if the Supreme Court strikes it down.

“If they didn’t want to cover me before the ACA, why would they now? This is what keeps me up at night. This is what I feel people do not understand about the severity of this pending situation,” Payne explains.

Democrats in both the state House and Senate are fighting to keep these protections in place should the Supreme Court strike down the ACA. They have introduced bills that would ensure protections for those with pre-existing conditions, codify ten essential health benefits into state law, prevent lifetime caps on life-sustaining insurance, and allow children to stay on their parents coverage until age 26 (a provision that would be erased if the ACA is struck down).

“We are striving to pass legislation that will serve as a firewall to preserve critical components of the Affordable Care Act for the citizens of our Commonwealth,” says Rep. Wendy Ullman (D- Bucks). “These protections must be given the force of law to ensure they remain in place for the many generations to come,” she adds.

Those bills, which were introduced early last year, are sitting in each chamber’s Insurance Committee awaiting further action.