Tillis-Backed SCOTUS Nominee Failed to Disclose Ties to Major Hospital System Collapse

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

October 9, 2020

Tillis-Backed SCOTUS Nominee Failed to Disclose Ties to Major Hospital System Collapse

Pennsylvania Hospital Collapse “One of the Largest Non-Profit Bankruptcies U.S. History"

Ethics Experts Say There is “No Reason to Omit the Case”

Raleigh, N.C. - This morning, NBC News reported that Tillis-backed Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett failed to disclose to the Senate Judiciary Committee past legal work “defending a Pittsburgh steel magnate accused of helping drive a major Pennsylvania Hospital System into bankruptcy.” Barrett has already been slammed for her health care record, including her open hostility towards the Affordable Care Act, which she is widely expected to strike down if confirmed.

As part of the confirmation process, Barrett was required to disclose the ten largest legal matters she had handled in her two years of private practice. Barrett listed just three cases and omitted her work defending the high profile hospital collapse, despite working on the case for at least six months. An ethics expert said that “there’s also no reason to omit the case given the significant length of time she appears to have worked on it relative to her overall work experience as a practicing attorney.”

“Not only is Thom Tillis rushing through a Supreme Court nominee who is openly hostile to protecting North Carolinians’ health care, but she has now been caught trying to hide her record defending one of the worst hospital system collapses in American history,” said Piedmont Rising Executive Director Casey Wikinson. “Striking down the Affordable Care Act would undercut hospitals’ finances, cause rural hospitals to close, and spike insurance premiums for North Carolinians. At every stage of her career, Amy Coney Barrett has worked to make it harder for people to get care and to protect those who would take it away. Tillis’ rush to put her onto the court is dangerous for North Carolinians’ health, which is why he must be removed in November.”

Overall, repealing the Affordable Care Act, or significantly weakening the law, “will have a major impact on hospitals' finances.” Both for-profit and nonprofit hospitals would experience a spike in uncompensated care costs as fewer people have health insurance. An increase in uncompensated care costs for hospitals likely means health insurance premiums would increase. Over a ten year period, it is estimated that hospitals would spend an additional $9.9 billion on uncompensated care costs, further damaging the finances of hospitals suffering lost revenue as a result of the pandemic, particularly hospitals operating in rural areas.

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