A collection of 17 states, healthcare groups, and experts are making a last-minute plea to a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit that would eliminate Obamacare’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions, warning that wiping out the protections would have a “devastating impact” on the healthcare system.
Major healthcare groups and mostly blue states on Thursday filed “friend of the court” briefs to argue against a lawsuit from Texas and several other states that says the healthcare law is unconstitutional. The deadline to file the briefs is midnight Thursday, and groups are hoping to persuade a judge not to side with Texas because it could invalidate Obamacare and wreak havoc on patient care.
“The legal arguments in this case are a long shot and a real stretch,” said Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring on a call with reporters Thursday. “We feel confident we can defend the healthcare for millions and millions of Americans.”
The lawsuit from Texas and 18 other states argues that Obamacare’s protections for pre-existing conditions cannot stand without the individual mandate, which charges a penalty for not having insurance and will be repealed starting in 2019. It argues that without the individual mandate, the law cannot raise any revenue and therefore doesn’t stand on its own. The Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that Obamacare’s individual mandate was a tax.
The lawsuit drew support from the Justice Department, which decided to not defend the law. It argues that the repeal of the individual mandate in the December tax legislation means that the rest of Obamacare is unconstitutional.
The American Medical Association led a group of five healthcare organizations in filing a brief opposing the lawsuit.
“An unfavorable decision in this case would create further disruption, generate uncertainty, spark additional premium increases, and cause declines in coverage,” said Barbara L. McAneny, president of the doctors’ lobbying group.
Another collection of groups led by the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, and American Lung Association filed a similar brief Thursday.
But the brief from the American Cancer Society and American Heart Association said that reasoning is flawed. It cited other rulings that found that a tax provision doesn’t have to raise revenue, citing a ruling on a tax on gun manufacturers.
The brief added that eliminating the protections for pre-existing conditions would have “a devastating impact on doctors, patients, and the American healthcare system as a whole.”
It said that those protections have led to 3.6 million people gaining access to affordable health insurance, gains that could be wiped out if insurers are again allowed to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.
The states behind the Texas lawsuit are seeking a preliminary injunction to invalidate the law. A hearing on the preliminary injunction has not been scheduled.
California and 16 other states fighting the lawsuit filed a response to the preliminary injunction request last week. In April, the states sought to intervene in the lawsuit. A federal judge granted the motion to intervene in May.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said the fight “could take a while” and even head to the Supreme Court.
