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In News

Senate Democrats Pressure GOP To Oppose Trump’s Pre-existing Strikedown Lawsuit

Put Up, or Shut Up Time for Senate Republicans on Most Popular Provision of Health Care Law

In June, President Trump’s Department of Justice announced that it would go to court in support of a lawsuit to repeal the Affordable Care Act and the ACA’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Yesterday, Senate Democrats, including Joe Manchin (WV), Claire McCaskill (MO), Bob Casey (PA), Joe Donnelly (IN), Heidi Heitkamp (ND), Jon Tester (MT), Sherrod Brown (OH) and Catherine Cortez Masto (NV), fought back by introducing a resolution that would authorize the Senate to step up to defend protections for pre-existing conditions in court.  While all 49 Senate Democrats sponsored the resolution, not a single Republican has signed on despite many paying lip service to the importance of protections for people with pre-existing conditions.

Here’s how it was covered:

The Hill: Dems Pressure GOP To Take Legal Action Supporting Pre-Existing Conditions. “Senate Democrats are targeting Republicans on health care, urging them to sign on to a resolution that would allow the Senate to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the legality of ObamaCare. The resolution, introduced Thursday, would allow the Office of Senate Legal Counsel to intervene in a case brought by Republican attorneys general that argues ObamaCare is now unconstitutional since Congress repealed the 2010 law’s individual mandate last year.” [The Hill, 7/19/18]

WV MetroNews: Manchin Leads Democrats On Resolution Protecting Pre-Existing Conditions Coverage. “Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., introduced a resolution Thursday asking for the Senate Legal Counsel to represent the legislative chamber in Texas v. United States — a lawsuit involving West Virginia and 19 other states — in defense of “Obamacare” and its provisions, specifically the guarantee of health insurance for people with pre-existing conditions…Manchin said 800,000 West Virginians would be at risk of losing insurance coverage if protections for pre-existing conditions were eliminated.” [WV MetroNews, 7/19/18]

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: McCaskill Co-Sponsors Senate Move To Oppose Hawley Backed Lawsuit Challenging Obamacare. “Sen. Claire McCaskill is co-sponsoring a resolution that would direct Senate lawyers to defend against a lawsuit trying to kill the Affordable Care Act, a move that has virtually no chance of passing but highlights the great divide between her and Attorney General Josh Hawley on a key issue in Missouri’s nationally watched Senate race. McCaskill, D-Mo., along with Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., said Thursday they would introduce the resolution.” [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 7/19/18]

WBIW: Donnelly Continues To Fight To Protect Hoosiers with Pre-Existing Conditions. “U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly continued his fight for quality, affordable health care coverage for Hoosiers with pre-existing conditions by joining a resolution that would allow the Senate’s Legal Counsel to represent the Senate in Texas v. United States. This would enable the Senate to defend protections for Americans with pre-existing condition against the current lawsuit seeking to make this provision unconstitutional.” [WBIW, 7/20/18]

Newsmax: “Florida Sen. Bill Nelson and a cadre of Democrats are taking steps to protect the healthcare coverage of millions of Americans with preexisting conditions.” “Florida Sen. Bill Nelson and a cadre of Democrats are taking steps to protect the healthcare coverage of millions of Americans with preexisting conditions. Nelson et al filed a resolution Thursday authorizing the Senate Legal Counsel to take up defense of a federal lawsuit, Texas v. United States, which would undo protections for those with preexisting conditions.” [Newsmax, 7/20/18]

Roll Call: Democrats Push Senate To Take Legal Action Backing Pre-existing Condition Protections. “Democratic senators want the chamber to go to court to defend health insurance protections for people with pre-existing conditions…Manchin and Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., are among those leading the introduction of a Senate resolution that would authorize the Senate to take legal action to intervene in litigation led by Texas that could undercut the protections on the health insurance exchanges and in the broader market. Morrisey and Hawley have signed on to the lawsuit, so it is no surprise that the Democratic Senate incumbents they’re challenging in 2018 would take the lead on the new legislative effort.” [Roll Call, 7/19/18]

Washington Examiner: “Senate Democrats Want To Intervene In A Lawsuit That Would End Obamacare’s Protections For Pre-existing Conditions.” “Senate Democrats want to intervene in a lawsuit that would end Obamacare’s protections for pre-existing conditions after the Trump administration declined to defend the healthcare law. A group of Democratic senators introduced a resolution on Thursday that would have the Senate intervene in a lawsuit brought by Texas and 19 other states against Obamacare. The lawsuit would gut the law’s protections for pre-existing conditions.” [Washington Examiner, 7/19/18]

Washington Times: Senate Democrats Offer Resolution To Protect Obamacare. “All 49 members of the Democratic caucus signed onto a resolution that would compel the Senate’s Office of Legal Counsel to intervene in the case, effectively daring the GOP to choose between President Trump’s hands-off position or a spirited defense of the most popular parts of the 2010 health care law, as the midterm campaign season heats up.” [Washington Times, 7/19/18]

ashoup
In Stories, Administration, News

“Justice Joins The Partisans”: Editorial Boards Across the Country Hammer Republicans’ Attack on Protections for 130 Million Americans With Pre-Existing Conditions

Earlier this month, the Trump Administration made the shocking decision to go to court to overturn protections allowing 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions to buy affordable health insurance. Following Republicans in Congress voting to repeal these protections, Trump joined a partisan lawsuit filed by 18 Republican state attorneys general and two Republican governors that would do just that. The lawsuit is wildly unpopular with the American public, with a new poll showing voters reject the move by a 2-1 margin.

Here’s what editorial boards around the country have been saying about the ongoing lawsuit, Texas v. United States:

Houston Chronicle: Texas Lawsuit To Kill Obamacare Will Claim Other Victims. “Trump’s Justice Department is supporting efforts by 20 states, including Texas, to strangle the Affordable Care Act. Killing Obamacare would keep a promise Trump made to a constituency he believes will win him a second term. The millions who will lose health coverage if Obamacare dies would be collateral damage to him… People with pre-existing conditions not only include those with epilepsy, cancer and diabetes, it could include pregnant women who didn’t already have insurance. Denying coverage to cancer patients and pregnant women or charging them exorbitant rates would be despicable… Texans have a lot to lose in this fight over health care. We need to let [Attorney General Ken Paxton] and [Senator Ted Cruz] know they are on the wrong side of a deadly proposition.” [Houston Chronicle, 6/24]

Fort Wayne Journal Gazette: Obamacare Dismantling Would Hit Hoosiers Hard. “It wasn’t that long ago that people could lose their health insurance coverage or be denied the opportunity to purchase a new policy because of a pre-existing condition. The Affordable Care Act put an end to such often-devastating outcomes. Now it’s possible America could return to those bad old days. If that happens, the Indiana attorney general’s office will be among the entities responsible… If Hill and his colleagues prevail, it could take America back to the days when people with cancer, diabetes, asthma or other long-term illnesses could once again find themselves unable to obtain health insurance, at least at a price they could afford to pay. According to Kaiser, that could include at least 30 percent of our state’s non-elderly adults – 1.175 million Hoosiers.” [Journal Gazette, 6/17]

Orlando Sentinel: Florida’s Attorney General Puts Partisan Loyalty Over Health Care For 1.7 Million Floridians. “If the lawsuit prevails, Obamacare’s core guarantee — access to health insurance for Americans with pre-existing conditions — will disappear, along with other provisions in the law. This is a serious threat for Florida, where 1.7 million people enrolled in the federal health-insurance exchange last year to buy policies under the law. More than 90 percent of them received federal subsidies to lower their cost for premiums. Taking aim at the law, when there is no backup in place, is a reckless partisan act by Bondi that mocks the description of her in her official biography as ‘an advocate for Florida’s consumers’ who has ‘worked tirelessly to protect the rights and safety of Floridians.’ The lawsuit demonstrates more loyalty to her two dozen pals in the Republican Attorneys General Association than those 1.7 million Floridians.” [Orlando Sentinel, 6/20]

Akron Beacon Journal: Justice Joins The Partisans In Another Attack On The Affordable Care Act. “Polls consistently show that Republicans and Democrats agree about the need to protect the health coverage of those Americans with pre-existing conditions. For all the division over the Affordable Care Act, both sides favor its provision barring insurers from denying coverage based on a person’s health status or medical history… What Justice now has embraced is another partisan effort to weaken the Affordable Care Act, though Republicans failed to advance a workable alternative. Recall that President Trump described the protection for pre-existing conditions as one of the law’s ;strongest assets.’ Now he wants to see its demise? Recall, too, that there is bipartisan support for repairing flaws in the act, providing certainty for those with pre-existing conditions and others in need of adequate and affordable health coverage.” [Beacon Journal, 6/26]

Gainesville Sun: Fight Efforts To Sabotage Health Care. “In the upcoming federal and state elections, voters should cast their ballots like their health care depends on it. For those with preexisting conditions, that certainly is the case. The Trump administration is now arguing in court that the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that insurers cover preexisting conditions is invalid, along with other parts of the law. It is the latest move by the administration to sabotage the ACA, following the repeal of the individual mandate in last year’s tax-cut legislation. The repeal and other changes approved by the administration are driving up insurance costs, threatening the health coverage of the 1.7 million Floridians and others who have obtained coverage through the federal marketplaces… We need lawmakers that push back on the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, not facilitate them further.” [Gainesville Sun, 6/17]

Minneapolis Star Tribune: States Launch Another Harmful Attack On The Affordable Care Act. “If courts eventually buy the case’s reasoning, then it is goodbye to the ACA components that have helped a lot of people. Among them: the premium assistance subsidies, the expanded eligibility for the publicly-run Medicaid program and the provision allowing young adults to stay on their parents’ health insurance until age 26. Also gone: the protections for those who have pre-existing medical conditions, though a few states like Minnesota may still have some state-level safeguards in place. Before the ACA, insurers on the individual market — which serves people who don’t have insurance through their jobs or a public program such as Medicare — didn’t have to cover people with asthma, diabetes, cancer or myriad other conditions. Returning to an era when sick people were priced out of coverage or barred by insurers from buying it is unacceptable.”[Star Tribune, 6/13]

Scranton Times-Tribune: Pre-Existing Misfeasance. “The Trump administration imperiled access to health care for millions of Americans last week when it declined to defend in court the Affordable Care Act’s provision that health insurers may not deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions… The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that 27 percent of people younger than 65 (Medicare coverage age) have a pre-existing condition that would affect their insurance access or cost. Whatever the controversies that have plagued the ACA, coverage regardless of pre-existing conditions is its most popular feature. Kaiser polling consistently has shown it to have an 70 percent approval rating among all Americans, including 59 percent of Republicans. This is another case of the administration hewing to a narrow base, even at the expense of health care for millions… Americans want coverage regardless of pre-existing conditions, and Congress should ensure that they have access to it.” [Times-Tribune, 6/10]

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Health Care Issue Isn’t Dead, Though GOP Is Trying. “One of Obamacare’s most popular provisions says that the 52 million non-elderly American adults with pre-existing conditions can’t be denied coverage or charged more for it. In a 2017 Kaiser Family Foundation poll, 84 percent of Democrats, 68 percent of independents and 59 percent of Republicans favored guaranteed coverage for pre-existing conditions. However, the tax-cut bill enacted in December eliminated Obamacare’s penalty for failing to purchase health insurance. The end of the so-called individual mandate caused 20 Republican state attorneys general to again challenge the overall constitutionality of Obamacare’s consumer protections, including coverage of pre-existing conditions. The Justice Department chimed in to agree. A final court decision on the challenge could be years away. In the meantime, voters with pre-existing conditions might want to factor it into their decisions in November.” [Post Dispatch, 6/25]

Seattle Times: Affordable Care Act Is Worth Saving. “This month, the Justice Department announced it would stop defending the ACA’s pre-existing conditions protections in court. Insurance companies may start refusing to insure people who have already been diagnosed with cancer or diabetes, for example, and not worry about facing government legal action… [This] attack pushes the ACA further onto shaky ground — and for no good reason.” [Seattle Times, 6/18]

ashoup
In Administration, Stories, News

Supreme Court Vacancy Puts Pre-Existing Conditions on the Chopping Block

President Trump promised to have “a very strong test” for his Supreme Court nominees, and that test is whether they’re prepared to:

  • Allow insurance companies to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions;
  • Make the cost of premiums, copays, deductibles and prescription drugs higher; and
  • Charge people age 50 and older more for their plans by overturning the consumer protections and market reforms in the Affordable Care Act.

If the Senate does not intervene, the balance of the Court could turn against the 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions, and millions more. Don’t believe us? Just take a look.

Modern Healthcare: Kennedy Retirement Could Have “Far-Reaching Consequences” On Health Care. “U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, 81, retired Wednesday, setting in motion a shakeup of the high court that could have far-reaching consequences on issues like abortion and healthcare.” [Modern Healthcare, 6/27]

WNPR: Pivotal Court Case Could Determine The Future Of The Affordable Care Act. “President Donald Trump has tried to fulfill a key campaign promise of repealing the ACA since he became president. So far, efforts to do that in Congress have largely been in vain. […] ‘The administration’s entire strategy is do whatever it can outside of Congress,’” a legal scholar points out. [WNPR, 6/28]

MedPage Today: Pre-Existing Condition Case Could Swing Due To Kennedy Retirement. “It’s possible that an ongoing Texas case questioning the viability of the Affordable Care Act may also make it to the court eventually.” [MedPage Today, 6/27]

ABC News: Kennedy Supported ACA, Subsidies Allowing Low-Income Americans To Obtain Insurance. “That same year, Kennedy voted to uphold a key component of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, allowing the federal government to provide nationwide tax subsidies to help Americans buy health insurance.” [ABC News, 6/27]

Some On Trump’s Short List Have Already Decided Against Americans’ Access to Affordable Health Care. “In 2011, [Steven Colloton] voted[…] to side with religious nonprofits challenging the Affordable Care Act’s rules for contraceptive coverage.” [WSJ, 6/27]

New York Times: Kennedy Retirement Important Due To “Trump Administration’s Recent Indication That It Will Use The Courts To Dismantle The Law’s Popular Protections For People With Pre-Existing Conditions.” [NYT, 6/27]

Fortune: Retirement Could Affect The Future Of Abortion Rights, ACA. “Kennedy was seen as a firewall against efforts to dismantle abortion rights enshrined under the landmark Roe v. Wade decision in the 1970s—and anti-abortion groups are already gearing up to challenge abortion laws across the country in the wake of Kennedy’s retirement, which could potentially have an effect on other health care-related issues such as the future of the Affordable Care Act.” [Fortune, 6/27]

ashoup
In Stories, Administration, News

Bipartisan Governors Slam Trump Administration For Attempting to Remove Pre-Existing Condition Protections

This afternoon, nine bipartisan governors released a statement slamming the Trump Administration’s decision to argue that protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions are unconstitutional. Protect Our Care Campaign Chair Leslie Dach released the following statement in response:

“The Trump Administration’s decision to argue for discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions has been opposed by everyone from patient groups to doctors – and now you can add nine bipartisan governors to the list. These nine governors – three Republicans, an Independent, and five Democrats –  all recognize the importance of protecting the 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions and the cruelty of the Administration’s recent actions. These nine bipartisan governors are showing what true leadership looks like – the Administration would do well to follow their lead and reverse their current position.”

ashoup
In News, Stories, Administration

Trump Administration Escalates GOP War on Health Care, Attacks Protections for 130 Million Americans with Pre-Existing Conditions

Since January 2017, President Trump and his Republican allies in Congress have waged a relentless war on health care, trying anything and everything to undermine, sabotage, and repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Last night, the Trump Administration launched its most egregious salvo yet: its lawyers are asking the courts to repeal key consumer protections that protect people with pre-existing conditions.

Overview of Texas v HHS and What the Trump Administration Just Did

Back in February, Republican state attorneys general from Texas and 19 other states filed a lawsuit arguing that the Affordable Care Act was unconstitutional now that Congress and President Trump repealed the individual mandate in their tax bill. The lawsuit argues the individual mandate, which required most people have health coverage or pay a fine, was crucial to making the Affordable Care Act work. Now that the individual mandate penalty has essentially been repealed, they argue the law is unworkable and should be struck down. Legal experts agree this argument is without merit.

Normally, the Department of Justice (DOJ) defends federal law in court. However, last night Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the DOJ will side with the Republican attorneys general and refuse to defend the constitutionality of the ACA. Moreover, the DOJ decided to specifically attack the ACA’s most popular reform, provisions banning insurance companies from denying coverage or charging people more because of a pre-existing condition.

The Trump Administration Wants to Put Insurance Companies Back in Charge to Deny Coverage and Charge More for People with Pre-Existing Conditions

While the courts and legal scholars debate these arguments, the real impact of the Trump Administration’s decision if they win the lawsuit is clear: overnight, Americans would once again be at the mercy of insurance companies, which could once again deny coverage or charge more because of a pre-existing condition. Roughly half of nonelderly American adults, or as many as 130 million people, have at least one pre-existing condition. Nationally, the most common pre-existing conditions were high blood pressure (44 million people), behavioral health disorders (45 million people), high cholesterol (44 million people), asthma and chronic lung disease (34 million people), and osteoarthritis and other joint disorders (34 million people).

The Trump Administration’s argument would also allow insurance companies to charge women more than men, and subject older Americans to an expensive “age tax” that would allows insurance companies to charge them much more.

DOJ Move Creates Uncertainty that Could Lead to Even Higher Rates

This all is happening at the same time as insurance companies in states across the country want to hike rates by double digits, pointing to Republican sabotage and uncertainty in the market as the reason. By creating even more uncertainty in the health care markets, the Trump Administration could raise health care costs even more for millions of people who are already facing double-digit hikes due to previous sabotage.

Our Health Care is at Stake

This dangerous lawsuit, now with the backing from the Trump Administration, threatens the care and coverage of tens of millions of Americans. If the courts rule in favor of the Republican attorneys general, critical Affordable Care Act protections would vanish overnight, unleashing chaos in our entire health care system. Our health care should not be at the mercy of partisan vendettas pushing “ludicrous” legal theories.

ashoup
In News, Administration, Stories

“The Justice Department Is Essentially Siding With Those Who Think That Health Insurance Companies Should Be Able to Sign Death Warrants For Sick People”: Trump Administration Launches Unprecedented Attack on Popular ACA Protections

Last night, the Trump Administration continued its historic sabotage of Americans’ health care when its Department of Justice said it will attack the Affordable Care Act’s popular provisions, including protections for those with pre-existing conditions, as unconstitutional. If the Supreme Court accepts their argument, insurance companies would be able to deny coverage for up to 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions, and older Americans and women could once again face significant surcharges because of their or age gender.

Here’s how the shock news is being covered:

Los Angeles Times: Got A Preexisting Condition? The Trump Administration Wants Insurers To Deny You Coverage. “In its latest effort to undermine the Affordable Care Act — and in the process, raise premiums for many Americans — the Trump administration is urging a federal judge in Texas to throw out the law’s protections for people with preexisting conditions. In other words, the administration wants insurers to be able to deny coverage to the people most in need of it, or to charge them considerably higher premiums than they’re allowed to charge today. This is jaw-dropping. Even Republicans who’ve complained about Obamacare have been loath to undo the protections for people with preexisting conditions who are not covered by large employers’ health plans. That’s because the public supports them, and unequivocally so.” [Los Angeles Times, 6/8]

New York Times: “The Justice Department Said That The Protections For People With Pre-Existing Conditions Were Inseparable From The Individual Mandate And Must Also Be Struck Down.” “The Trump administration told a federal court on Thursday that it would no longer defend crucial provisions of the Affordable Care Act that protect consumers with pre-existing medical conditions. Under those provisions of the law, insurance companies cannot deny coverage or charge higher rates to people with pre-existing conditions… The Justice Department said that the protections for people with pre-existing conditions were inseparable from the individual mandate and must also be struck down.” [NYT, 6/7]

Talking Points Memo: Trump’s Midterm Gift To Dems: A War On Pre-Existing Condition Protections. “The Trump administration delivered an early midterms present to Democrats Thursday night when the Justice Department decided to side with 20 GOP states in a lawsuit seeking to gut the core protections of the Affordable Care Act for people with pre-existing conditions. The long-shot lawsuit argues that because Republicans repealed the ACA’s individual mandate penalty as part of their tax overhaul, all of the remaining law is unconstitutional. The Justice Department, in backing the state’s argument, is seeking to strike down two of Obamacare’s most popular provisions: the rule that insurance companies can’t turn someone away or charge them more based on a pre-existing condition, and the rule that limits how much insurers can charge older patients for their premiums.” [TPM, 6/8]

Bloomberg: Provisions DOJ Is Not Defending “Include Protecting People With Pre-Existing Medical Conditions From Being Charged More Or Being Denied Coverage.” “Since Congress repealed the penalty for not having insurance in its tax reform package last year, much of the rest of the insurance statute becomes unconstitutional in 2019 and must be ‘struck down,’ attorneys for the Justice Department said in a court filing Thursday. Such provisions include protecting people with pre-existing medical conditions from being charged more or being denied coverage.” [Bloomberg, 6/8]

USA Today: “The Brief Filed Thursday Night Is The Latest Attempt By His Administration To Weaken President Barack Obama’s Signature Health-Care Law.” “The Trump administration declared that it will no longer defend the Affordable Care Act from a challenge filed by 20 states because it agrees that the law’s individual mandate is unconstitutional and that key parts of the act — including the provisions protecting those with pre-existing conditions — are invalid. President Trump has long declared the ACA, also known as Obamacare, to be a ‘disaster’ and the brief filed Thursday night is the latest attempt by his administration to weaken President Barack Obama’s signature health-care law.” [USA Today, 6/8]

Huffington Post: Trump Administration Takes New Aim At Obamacare’s Pre-Existing Conditions. “The Trump administration on Thursday officially threw its support behind a new, seemingly far-fetched legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act, arguing that the law’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions are unconstitutional… The Trump administration’s contempt for Obamacare is no secret. And although the president and his supporters have sometimes said they believe in protections for people with pre-existing conditions, they have repeatedly taken action ― like trying to pass repeal legislation or rolling back the Affordable Care Act’s regulations on what plans must cover ― that seek to undermine or obliterate those protections entirely.” [Huffington Post, 6/7]

Donald Verrilli, Former United States Solicitor General: “I Find It Impossible To Believe That The Many Talented Lawyers At The Department Could Not Come Up With Any Arguments To Defend The ACA’s Insurance Market Reforms, Which Have Made Such A Difference To Millions Of Americans.” [St. Louis Dispatch, 6/8]

Nicholas Bagley, Former Department of Justice Attorney: The Administration Decided “Its Dislike For The Affordable Care Act Outweighed Its Respect For The Rule Of Law.”  Bagley, a former Justice Department attorney, said the DOJ has a ‘durable, longstanding, bipartisan commitment’ to defending the laws passed by Congress as long as there is a legitimate ‘non-frivolous’ argument to be made in its defense. ‘The Justice Department has an obligation to defend the law and it has refused to do so because it dislikes this particular law,’ Bagley told USA TODAY. The administration decided its ‘dislike for the Affordable Care Act outweighed its respect for the rule of law.’ Bagley said the brief reveals the ‘depth of institutional decay at the Department of Justice’ and he expressed profound concern about the precedent it sets. [USA Today, 6/8]

Mother Jones: Donald Trump Takes Aim At Pre-Existing Conditions. “The Trump administration’s desperate desire to deprive Americans of health care entered a new phase tonight when Donald Trump personally approved a decision by the Justice Department not to defend Obamacare against state lawsuits… The Justice brief and letter say many other aspects of the law can survive because they can be considered legally distinct from the insurance mandate and such consumer protections as a ban on charging more or refusing coverage to people with preexisting medical conditions.” [Mother Jones, 6/7]

Gizmodo: “If The DOJ Is Successful, Millions Of Americans Could Be Denied The Ability To Buy Health Insurance.” “The U.S. Justice Department made an unusual argument to a federal court last night, claiming that Obamacare’s protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions are unconstitutional. Roughly 1 in 4 Americans have pre-existing conditions that would make it difficult to buy insurance without those protections. If the DOJ is successful, millions of American could be denied the ability to buy health insurance. Under the Affordable Care Act, commonly called Obamacare, insurance companies can’t deny coverage to people with pre-existing medical conditions, and it puts limits on how much those companies can charge. But the Trump regime wants to change all that, arguing in federal court along with 20 states that protections for pre-existing conditions should be abolished.” [Gizmodo, 6/8]

Associated Press: Justice Department Says Heart Of Affordable Care Act Unconstitutional. “The Trump administration said in a court filing late Thursday that it will no longer defend key parts of the Affordable Care Act, including the requirement that people have health insurance and provisions that guarantee access to health insurance regardless of any medical conditions. The decision, announced in a filing in a federal court in Texas, is a rare departure from the Justice Department’s practice of defending federal laws in court.” [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 6/8]

Splinter News: The Trump Administration Is Now Trying To Sabotage Obamacare In The Courts. “The GOP tried and failed to repeal the Affordable Care Act last year, so now it’s trying another strategy: deciding not to fight a legal effort to rule key parts of the law unconstitutional, including the ban on insurers denying coverage or charging an obscene amount to people who have ‘pre-existing conditions’ … Because the Justice Department is essentially siding with those who think that health insurance companies should be able to sign death warrants for sick people, a group of 16 state attorneys general will defend the law in court.” [Splinter News, 6/8]

Mic: Today In Trump’s America: Trump Admin Urges Courts To Throw Out Pre-Existing Condition Protections. “In a response to a lawsuit filed by a group of conservative states that seeks to end the ACA, Trump’s Justice Department said Congress’ repeal of the individual mandate invalidates other key provisions of the heath care law. This includes rules that forbid insurers both from charging sick customers more for coverage or denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. Those two provisions are some of the most popular aspects of the ACA, also known as Obamacare. And Republican attempts in 2017 to repeal Obamacare and those provisions were extremely unpopular and led to a backlash against Republican lawmakers.” [Mic, 6/8]

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