Don’t Kill Obamacare, Dems Say In Court Brief

House Democrats said the Affordable Care Act will be just fine without the individual mandate.

That was one contention made in a Supreme Court brief filed to support the Affordable Care Act against a lawsuit, backed by the Trump administration, that would overturn the 2010 law.

Later this fall, the Supreme Court will hear a lawsuit from Republican-led states that argue the ACA was rendered invalid after Congress eliminated its tax penalty for not having health insurance. A coalition of Democratic state attorneys general and the Democratic-led House of Representatives are defending the law in court.

In December, a panel of federal appeals court judges found the ACA unconstitutional. But instead of ruling on the entire law, the appellate panel sent the challenge back to a federal judge in Texas who previously invalidated the entire law.

Democratic state attorneys general and the Democratic-led House of Representatives, who are defending the law in court, asked the Supreme Court to hear the case.

Advertisement

In the House Democrats’ brief, they contend that “all of the ACA’s remaining provisions, including the guaranteed-issue and community-rating reforms, will operate perfectly well” without the individual mandate.

“Millions of people continue to obtain affordable insurance through the ACA exchanges” despite Congress’ decision to eliminate the individual mandate, the brief read.