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The campaign to bring back pre-existing conditions kicks into high gear this week.
A sophistic ruling from a single Texas judge unveiled late last year, held until safely after the midterm elections when it couldn't further doom the GOP's chances, would dismantle the entire ACA, depriving tens of millions of people of their coverage and throwing the American health system into chaos. This week the oral arguments in front of a panel of judges from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans begin. The stakes are life-and-death.
Affordable Care Act threatened as Trump administration, GOP states fight U.S. House, Democratic states in court
A sophistic ruling from a single Texas judge unveiled late last year, held until safely after the midterm elections when it couldn't further doom the GOP's chances, would dismantle the entire ACA, depriving tens of millions of people of their coverage and throwing the American health system into chaos. This week the oral arguments in front of a panel of judges from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans begin. The stakes are life-and-death.
Affordable Care Act threatened as Trump administration, GOP states fight U.S. House, Democratic states in court
That ruling has not been implemented pending appeal, but the implications are huge. If the law is wiped out, so too would be insurance for 20 million people, protection for people with pre-existing conditions, subsidies for low-income people, Medicaid expansions in many states, coverage for young adults up to age 26 and more.
On one side are the Trump administration and 18 states, led by Texas, that agree with O'Connor's decision and want the law dismantled. On the other side are the U.S. House of Representatives and 16 states, led by California, seeking to have that ruling reversed. A threshold question is whether the House, and possibly the liberal states, have the required legal authority to defend a law the federal government is not defending.
Hearing the two sides will be a three-judge panel that includes two judges chosen by Republican presidents and one nominated by a Democrat. If its decision eventually goes to the full appeals court, that too is dominated by GOP presidents' choices.