Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey held a roundtable discussion at a health center in Brentwood that focused on the devastation families could face if insurance protections for people with pre-existing conditions are lost."We should not have to be fighting to preserve a protection that were put into law for Americans who have preexisting conditions," Casey said Wednesday in his opening remarks at the Squirrel Hill Health Center's Brentwood location.Casey heard from a breast cancer survivor about the costs families could face without that coverage.Amy Raslevich recalled her own reaction upon seeing her medical bills at the time of her surgeries: "'Holy crap, are we going to be able to afford going to the doctor and the hospital?' My second surgery, the estimate I was given for a single day, non-complicated surgery was $87,000. And, 'Hey, we won't let you in the door unless you have $65,000 up front."By some estimates, as many as a half-million Americans under the age of 65 had a pre-existing condition of some kind -- and a stake in what happens if coverage protections are lost."If your child has asthma, that's a pre-existing condition. If someone has had back surgery, that might be a pre-existing condition. Bottom line is, anybody who's pretty much had medical care for a particular issue could potentially fall into that bucket," said Dr. Karen Hacker, director of the Allegheny County Health Department, who also took part in the roundtable.Casey says the Trump administration isn't defending the coverage for pre-existing conditions against lawsuits attacking the Affordable Care Act."We have a group of right-wing Republican attorneys general, joined by this administration, that want to rip away the protections for pre-existing conditions," Casey said. "That's an insult. It's an abomination."Republican U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, who's running against Casey in the fall Senate race, would not comment on the court fight but said he'd support bills to protect that coverage."Regardless of what happens here, there has to be a plan that makes sure that there's coverage for pre-existing conditions. We can't leave them out without any insurance," Barletta told Pittsburgh's Action News 4 during a campaign stop in Beaver County.Both Casey and Barletta are Roman Catholic. Pittsburgh's Action News 4 asked their comments about the pending release of a Pennsylvania investigative grand jury report that examines more than 70 years of cases of child sex abuse by clergy in six Catholic dioceses across Pennsylvania, including Pittsburgh and Greensburg. The report identifies more than 300 alleged "predator priests.""Whether as a Catholic or not, as a citizen, as a public official, I'm glad we're going to be seeing a lot more disclosure," Casey said. "The kinds of abuses that took place over decades should be the subject of scrutiny, review and transparency. I think that's finally what we're going to get. It never should have taken this long. And church leadership -- not only here, but around the world, but especially here -- bears a lot of responsibility for the abuse, obviously, but also for, frankly, what's been a cover-up for too long.Barletta declined to comment on the grand jury report."It's not a federal issue, so my opinion doesn't really matter very much," Barletta said. "I'm a Roman Catholic, 100 percent pro-life, a man of strong faith and I believe in my religion. And as far as that, it has nothing to do with the federal government."