In a dramatic escalation of the Trump administration’s legal battle against President Obama’s health care law, Justice Department lawyers now say the entire Affordable Care Act should be struck down.
Having previously argued, under AG Jeff Sessions, that only the law’s pre-existing condition protections should be struck down, DoJ lawyers told a federal appeals court Monday it thinks the whole of ObamaCare is unconstitutional, siding with a Texas district court ruling that found Obamacare unconstitutional.
In a letter Monday night, the administration said “it is not urging that any portion of the district court’s judgment be reversed.”
“The Department of Justice has determined that the district court’s comprehensive opinion came to the correct conclusion and will support it on appeal,” said Kerri Kupec, spokesperson for the Justice Department.
The Hill points out that the case centers on the argument that since Congress repealed the tax penalty in the law’s mandate for everyone to have insurance in 2017, the mandate can no longer be ruled constitutional under Congress’s power to tax.
The challengers then argue that all of ObamaCare should be invalidated because the mandate is unconstitutional.
Most legal experts say legal precedent shows that even if the mandate is ruled unconstitutional, the rest of ObamaCare should remain unharmed, as that is what Congress voted to do in the 2017 tax law that repealed the mandate’s penalty.
Of course, at a moment when Trump’s political capital is soaring after the Mueller/Avenatti debacles have crushed the #resistance, as The Hill reports, the move is certain to prompt new denunciations from Democrats, who had already seized on the Trump administration’s earlier call for the pre-existing condition protections to be struck down.
“This lawsuit is as dangerous as it is reckless. It threatens the healthcare of tens of millions of Americans across the country — from California to Kentucky and all the way to Maine,” said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra in a statement.
“The Affordable Care Act is an integral part of our healthcare system… Because no American should fear losing healthcare, we will defend the ACA every step of the way.”
Specifically, as The Washington Times concludes, the administration’s decision to fully back the lawsuit will loom large on Tuesday when Democrats plan to propose measures that would make Obamacare more generous and combat Mr. Trump’s changes to the program, which they’ve dubbed “sabotage.”
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Legislating from the judiciary.
Congress is broken beyond salvation; it’s incapable of action in any direction except to raise campaign funds for the next election.
After 250 or 400 years, the US finds itself in a state utter disrepair.
I don’t think it’s going to take nearly that long.
Being unconstitutional hasn’t been a problem for the implementation of other policies, not sure why it’s a concern all of a sudden.
Forcing people to purchase a good or a service from a private corporation under threat of fine and/or imprisonment is a clear violation of the Constitution in at least three distinct areas-the 5th, 8th and 10th.
I’m not sure people on this site have experience with Obamma Care.
Go to your monthly premium calculator based on your projected wage.
You see it’s progressively more expensive per month the higher your wage. It’s better to report the minimum and pay either a $300 or $700 dollar penalty when you file your taxes.
It’s a great deal for most people. It was designed to be a great deal at first for most people.
However, a few years into the program and you will get a call from the government to validate your income tax from two years ago as well as pay stubs from this year.
Most people probably haven’t even filed an income tax , let alone kept a copy.
People who are severely under reporting income are going to get bumped up to a higher monthly premium.
The biggest mistake Republicans can make is to end the program. Because many people are going to be very unhappy once the government forces them to play by the rules.
And when you have to play by the rules , someone making $30,000 a year with no pre existing condition will find that Obamma Care is expensive.
Probably said person pays $0 now (depending on exactly what you mean). They’d (Family?) be in Medicaid which would pay 100%.
I have first hand experience with guiding a low income person through the enrollment maze: neither the Marketplace enforces the rules nor did the IRS pay much attention to auditing tax returns at least through 2017 tax year. Get caught? There are still legal ways to minimize the pain.
As in everything government does, it turns to shit pretty quickly.
Nothing will be done about this shakedown that has been foisted on our population. The robbery will continue and the Freeshitters will continue to get healthcare for free. It is what it is with or without the mandate.
Hate on Obamacare all you want. The country still needs affordable health insurance of some sort. I am not sure if Trump’s ideas would have worked. Maybe try getting a slightly different version passed.
buying in large pools across state lines seems like it would be a good idea. I thought anything from the gov. would not work well. Half the people I know have no health insurance.
Disagree completely. What America needs is a population that doesn’t eat/drink/drug/fuck its way into dissolution. What America needs are people who accept responsibility for their own lives and pay their own way. Insurance is a lot like spinning rims on a Toyota, if you think that’s cool and you really want it, then go buy it yourself, don’t expect healthy people to subsidize your maladaptive behavior and irresponsible financial decisions on their dime just because we live inside of borders that don’t mean anything anyway.
You’re on a roll today, red-pilling the shit out of everyone.
Uh, this travesty does nothing to address “affordable.” What rock are you living under? For those that have to pay (not on Medicaid), it is in the range of $1000 per month … just shy.
Anon- THAT’S CORRECT!!! Most American families are paying close to or as much as their house payment each month for this AFFORDABLE(?) healthcare with YUGE deductibles. They are getting ZIP, ZERO, NADA for their money and subsidizing the rest of the planet and the criminal cabal with NO benefit to these families.
Well, they do get 1 free trip to the Dr. per year for a wellness check-up – for their $600/1000 per month premium. I guess that’s affordable and free. LOL.
BL, it’s called slavery and it is all part of the plan.
Ever think about becoming a Congressperson? It pays well and the medical care is unbeatable.
yahsure: bull shit. The country needs to return to efficient health care and that means get the fucking government out of it. Health care was affordable 50 years ago, and that was before everybody and his uncle had some kind of health insurance. There was a time when people would pay the doctor out-of-pocket at the time of service and then submit the claim(s) to their insurance company; if no insurance then you were that much more cautious about going to the doctor for minor problems. If you had a job the routine costs were not unbearable.
When direct bill to the insurance company became the norm people lost sight of the inflated costs that were starting to be charged. That, of course, was the start of some people getting free care paid in some way by others. The breakdown in the whole system started with the advent of “managed care” in the late 1970’s.
That half the people you know have no health insurance is the result of the government destroying efficient-and therefore affordable-medical care. Note that medical care is not the same thing as medical insurance. The problems and solutions for each are not neccessairly the same.
I’m pretty sure – though not certain – that the end of the mandate (which I agree was unconstitutional) starting in 2018 hasn’t yet caused a big rush of people to skip buying insurance.
I still maintain that we’re headed for Single Payer – “Medicare for All” – because of the fact that the government refuses to disturb the conspiratorial clusterfuck that we have now. We get charged way more for medicines than what people in other countries pay. If we’re uninsured, we’re liable for emergency hospital bills (what I call “fake bills”) that are three, four, five … ten times what an insurance company would have to pay for the same services. These scams frighten people into paying outrageous premiums for insurance that has huge deductibles.
We have two choices: end the corrupt practices or get government-run, horseshit healthcare. Since we’re not doing the former, we’ll get the latter.
There is it for all to see, at least for those who have eyes to see it.
“the case centers on the argument that since Congress repealed the tax penalty in the law’s mandate for everyone to have insurance in 2017, the mandate can no longer be ruled constitutional under Congress’s power to tax.”
Without the penalty aka “tax” that Roberts had to label it, the whole thing falls to pieces. The tax was reliant on income, tax on income is reliant on a little mentioned but typically footnoted Dec 1, 1869 SCOTUS case.
Roberts had to label it a tax or put at risk ALL of the welfare bullshit built by Congress since the New Deal. They’re all linked to the income and who/how it is created. You have two choices when you’re paid: Be paid in Federal reserve credit or be paid in public money created by the Treasury.
Currently it is assumed, at best presumed, you’re paid in Federal reserve credit also called bank credit. Until that is understood and corrected, the theft of your essence will continue.
The only unanswered question is what kind of dirt did they have on Roberts?
That mulatto shitbag robbed all of us. I want my damn money back, with interest.
No can do-he spent it all on golfing trips.
I was looking for the Babylon Bee tag and I didn’t see it. Did OP post another Onion article and take me in like he used to?
This can’t be real. And I assume it won’t make a difference, since the Repubes did call this “The Law of the Land” when they had the opportunity to repeal it.
Surviving a serious medical condition from the bad luck genetic lottery of life my front row seat regarding the Affordable Health Care Act (Obamacare) has been quite an experience .
Those who claim socialized medicine is bad , it will bankrupt the country , quality of care will suffer on & on are truthful to a degree . Since the evil party (Democrat’s) concocted this mess and the stupid party (Republicans) stood there with one thumb up their collective asses and the other in their mouths then switching on command it’s no wonder things are so messed up ! The stupid and evil parties made sure their health insurence went basicly undisturbed while the great unwashed got handed a shit sandwhich !
I recall my congressman the lone republican from Maryland speaking on a call in radio show and his tap dancing regarding his family health insurence plan costs .
When asked by callers repeatedly how much did his plan cost per month and how much did the deductibles go up and coverage go down ? His response was typical Washington DC swamp geek speak : I am enrolled in the federal employee health insurence program and the cost is deducted from my salary monthly !
Never did he outline what he got for his out of pocket expense “BUT” as time proved he got a great deal more per dollar spent the the plans offered for the great unwashed . The great unwashed received less coverage higher deductibles and higher premumiums , thanks a lot assholes .
So now the cry for socialism is gaining ground and those unaffected by the last 40 years of economic nonsense wonder why ?
Why because socialism subsidizing government employees and representives works great for them because “THEY” have been in a position to strip mine America’s middle class to the benefit of the big club !
This is not a cry for socialism on the contrary , this is a demand for equal protection under the law ! I know fat chance LOL !