News

Actions

Department of Justice: Entire Affordable Care Act should be struck down

Posted at 6:40 AM, Mar 26, 2019
and last updated 2019-03-26 08:40:39-04

WASHINGTON (CNN) – In a filing with a federal appeals court, the Trump Administration has sided with a federal judge’s ruling in Texas that called the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional.

The change in position is a significant shift from the Department of Justice’s position when it was led by former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Previously, the Trump administration argued certain parts of the law could stand, but that is no longer the case, and the DOJ is now arguing no parts of the law should stand.

In a December ruling, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor ruled that the new tax law knocked out the constitutional foundation from under the ACA  by eliminating the bill’s coverage mandate.

That ruling has been appealed, but it has not had the Department of Justice’s backing until Monday.

In a statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the move an “all-out war on the health care of the American people.”

House Democrats responded to the administration’s new position Tuesday by introducing a new bill designed to shore up the healthcare law.

Pelosi’s office said the new bill would provide money to help health insurers pay for their costliest patients. It would also make more middle-class people eligible for subsidized health insurance while increasing aid for those who qualify for subsidies.

It would also restore advertising and outreach budgets slashed by President Donald Trump’s administration.

Since Trump took office, the federal health insurance market, HealthCare.gov, has lost more than 1 million customers. State-run markets are holding their own

The bill is largely symbolic, it has virtually no chance of passing the Republican-controlled Senate and even if it were to pass, President Trump would likely veto it.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report)