09.05.2018 / Press Release

High Stakes Legal Gambit Threatens Health Care for Millions

Washington, D.C.—Today, a Texas Federal District Court heard arguments in the case Texas v. United States, a lawsuit that threatens access to health care and coverage for millions of people in our nation. The Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, and a group of 17 state attorneys general, two governors, and two individual plaintiffs are challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), urging the court to overturn the entire health care law now that the individual mandate penalty was eliminated by Congress. The Trump administration has refused to defend the law, and instead is arguing that protections for people with preexisting conditions should be struck down. Defending the law is a group of 17 attorneys general, led by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra.

View Families USA’s short analysis on Texas v U.S.A. here.

Following is the statement of Frederick Isasi, executive director of Families USA:

“Since its passage in 2010, the Supreme Court has twice upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. More than twenty million people depend on the ACA for their health care. Unfortunately, partisan opponents of the ACA appear to be willing to stop at nothing to bring down the high-quality, affordable health care coverage millions in our nation now enjoy.

“Today, the US District Court heard a case that is breathtaking in both the flimsiness of its arguments and the dangerousness of its impact. Once again, opponents of the ACA are seeking to do through the courts what they failed to do in Congress. What’s more, instead of defending access to health care on behalf of the American people, the Trump administration—the named defendant in the suit— is arguing that the court should strike down preexisting condition protections.

“If the court overturns the entirety of the ACA, young people will no longer be guaranteed the right to stay on their parents’ plans until age 26, Medicaid coverage will end for millions of families, and insurers will once again be permitted to deny coverage or charge excessive premiums to people with preexisting conditions, threatening coverage for millions, including children with asthma, pregnant women, cancer survivors, as well as older adults, who suffer a range of chronic illness, including diabetes and heart disease. Once again, people could be subjected to annual and lifetime limits in their health plans.

“It is appalling that health care for millions of people is once again under attack. The American people deserve the certainty that they can see a doctor when they need to and that their elected officials will work to protect their health care. We hope the court recognizes how dangerous and legally dubious this lawsuit is and upholds the ACA and all its consumer protections for the good of the health and financial well-being of all families in our nation.”