Bay State in fight to save Obamacare

Jul. 10--Massachusetts joined a coalition of states defending Obamacare as a federal appeals court in Louisiana heard arguments Tuesday to toss it out.

"This isn't just a fight about the law, it's a fight about country, our values, and whether we're going to take care of one another," said Attorney General Maura Healey at a press conference Tuesday outside the John Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston.

The Bay State joined 16 other states defending the ACA in Texas v. United States, which was argued before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Louisiana. The law's latest challenge comes nine years after President Obama first enacted the legislation, and after two Supreme Court cases.

Tuesday's arguments were the latest in a lawsuit filed by Republican officials in 18 states, led by the Texas Attorney General's Office. It was filed after Congress -- which didn't repeal the law, despite pressure from President Trump -- reduced to zero the unpopular tax imposed on those without insurance.

In challenging the law anew, "Obamacare" opponents noted the 2012 ruling of a divided Supreme Court that upheld the law. Conservative justices had rejected the argument that Congress could require everyone to buy insurance under the Constitution's interstate commerce clause. But Chief Justice John Roberts, joining four liberal justices, said Congress did have the power to impose a tax on those without insurance.

According to a Jan. 3 motion filed with the U.S. House of Representatives, Texas-based U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor declared that if the individual mandate is unconstitutional, the entire ACA must fall, arguing that it is "unseverable from the rest of the statute." The law's supporters appealed.

Bay State advocates for the ACA said they fear local consequences of striking down the law.

Ipswich resident and American Heart Association advocate Diane Pickles shared the story of her son, Jake, who depends on Obamacare for treatment of a complex congenital heart defect. Under Obamacare, 24-year-old Jake has two more years on his parents' insurance, ensuring that he can afford necessary surgeries -- which may include a transplant.

"To those who are fighting to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, I say this: if you have never known the pain of worrying that your child will likely not outlive you, I pray you never will," Pickles said. "If you, like me, have come close to losing a child, you know that it is more than enough for you and the child to worry about that mortality without worrying about whether an insurance company will deem you and your child an acceptable risk."

-- Herald wire services contributed to this report.

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