A federal judge in Texas ruled on Friday that core provisions of the Affordable Care Act were unconstitutional, potentially threatening health-care coverage for millions of Americans and setting up a new legal showdown over former President Barack Obama’s signature policy initiative.
U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor of Texas issued the decision, declaring that key portions of the legislation were inconsistent with the Constitution. O’Connor’s ruling argued that the health-care law can not stand on its since Congress last December repealed the individual mandate, which imposed a tax penalty on consumers who went uninsured.
The mandate, which remains in effect for 2018, was a key part of ACA legislation, otherwise known as Obamacare. The mandate is the greater of $695 person per adult, or 2.5 percent of household income.
The lawsuit was backed by the Trump administration, and is likely to be appealed — which could mean the legislation will heard anew by the Supreme Court, which upheld Obamacare in a narrowly divided 2012 ruling.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders released a statement praising the ruling. “Obamacare has been struck down by a highly respected judge. The judge’s decision vindicates President Trump’s position that Obamacare is unconstitutional.”
Democratic California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who led a group states in intervening to defend Obamacare, called the decision “an assault on 133 million Americans with preexisting conditions, on the 20 million Americans who rely on the ACA’s consumer protections for healthcare.”
The American Medical Association called the ruling “an unfortunate step backward for our health system” and warned the decision could “destabilize health insurance coverage.”
“No one wants to go back to the days of 20 percent of the population uninsured and fewer patient protections, but this decision will move us in that direction,” AMA president Barbara L. McAneny said in a statement.
The ruling came hours before the ACA’s final open enrollment day to get health coverage next year. Sign-ups on the federal health insurance marketplace have been low this season, tumbling 11.7 percent from the same time last year, according to the latest figures from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
While President Donald Trump was previously unable to repeal Obamacare, he was able to dismantle key parts of it that several health policy researchers are blaming for much of the drop in enrollment this year.
