Talking Points Memo
In a dramatic move, the Trump administration declared its intention to refuse to defend the Affordable Care Act from a federal lawsuit by 20 GOP-controlled states who are arguing that Congress’ repeal of the individual mandate renders parts of the rest of the health care law unconstitutional, according to a filing from the Department of Justice Thursday evening.
In particular, the administration is arguing that the ACA’s ban on discrimination based on pre-existing conditions and limits on charging older patients higher premiums are invalid, and they are requesting that the court put a halt to those provisions in January of 2019, when enforcement of the individual mandate is set to be terminated.
The change was signaled earlier on Thursday when three career DOJ attorneys withdrew from the lawsuit and a political appointee signed on to represent the administration in the case, which is pending before the District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
A DOJ spokesperson declined to comment to TPM about the change in attorneys, characterizing it as “personnel issues.”
The Trump administration and the GOP-controlled House and Senate made several attempts to repeal the ACA in 2017. Following the failure of those legislative salvos — save for the successful repeal of the individual mandate as part of a massive package of tax cuts — the administration set about chipping away at the health care law piece by piece using executive orders and Department of Health and Human Services regulations. Those moves, particularly the anticipated introduction of cheap, skimpy, short-term and limited-benefit health care plans, are expected to drain healthy consumers from the ACA market and drive up premiums for those who remain.
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