Twenty Republican states have banded together to sue the federal government in an attempt to finally abolish the Affordable Care Act in the wake of the elimination of the individual mandate by the Trump administration.
Modern Healthcare reports that the Republican-governed states, led by Ken Paxton, Texas attorney general, and Brad Schimel, Wisconsin attorney general, called the law an "unconstitutional and irrational regime" forced on the states that undermined their sovereignty.
In their complaint, the states wrote, "Once the heart of the ACA—the individual mandate—is declared unconstitutional, the remainder of the ACA must also fall."
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The individual mandate was eliminated in Trump's tax cut law, when it was zeroed out. And although the ACA was upheld in 2012 as constitutional, when the Supreme Court ruled it was a tax penalty, the elimination of that penalty means that, according to the states, the rest of the ACA "can't stand as law," the report says.
While the states regulate health insurance, the ACA not only required states to create or adopt exchanges where individuals could purchase plans, it also imposed certain requirements on plans, including covering pre-existing conditions and adhering to a list of essential elements of care.
An Insurance Journal report points out that the individual mandate in the ACA was intended to ensure a viable health insurance market by compelling younger and healthier Americans to buy coverage. Their presence in the market would help to keep premiums down and stable and level the playing field for those who are sicker and need more care, who otherwise would be unable to buy affordable coverage.
Reuters reports that Republicans Paxton and Schimel were joined in the lawsuit by 18 states including Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Utah and West Virginia. It was filed in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Texas.
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Marlene Satter
Marlene Y. Satter has worked in and written about the financial industry for decades.
