Health insurers are warning that the Trump administration would further destabilize Obamacare through its request to have a court strike down the healthcare law’s key regulations, joining Democrats in opposing the move.
The Trump administration angered Obamacare advocates and Democrats by asking a court Thursday to undo the requirements that health insurers must sell coverage to people with pre-existing illnesses and cannot charge them more than other customers. The Department of Justice is agreeing with a lawsuit filed by 20 states saying that repeal of the Obamacare penalty for going uninsured in 2019 makes Obamacare unconstitutional, but differs by pointing to specific regulations it wants severed, rather than the entire law.
America’s Health Insurance Plans warned Friday that the actions would create uncertainty for Obamacare customers, which would raise premiums. The insurance industry lobbying group said it will file an amicus brief opposing the Trump administration’s request.
“Removing those provisions will result in renewed uncertainty in the individual market, create a patchwork of requirements in the states, cause rates to go even higher for older Americans and sicker patients, and make it challenging to introduce products and rates for 2019,” the group said. “Instead, we should focus on advancing proven solutions that ensure affordability for all consumers.”
The lawsuit will take months to resolve and could go through several appeals. Democrats slammed the move in statements and on social media, saying it provided another example of Republican efforts to undermine Obamacare. Administrations typically defend federal law, though a similar situation occurred when the Obama administration refused to defend the Defense of Marriage Act, which blocked married same-sex couples from collecting federal benefits.
“With this decision, the Trump administration has taken their quest to sabotage our health care system to a whole new level,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said. “Rather than trying to find any way they can to raise rates and harm those with pre-existing conditions, President Trump and congressional Republicans should be working with Democrats to make healthcare more affordable. The administration should reverse this decision, and congressional Republicans should join us in August to focus on lowering costs for the American people.”
He and other Senate Democrats, including Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, sent a letter to Trump that asked him to “stop the sabotage” and accused him of being “undeterred in its efforts” to get rid of the Obamacare regulations.
“During your presidential campaign, you repeatedly promised that you would retain protections for people with pre-existing conditions,” they wrote. “Then you changed your position and supported numerous health care bills that would have gutted these protections.”
Democrats in the House, including Rep. Frank Pallone, the top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, called it a “stunning attack on the rule of law” and “potentially the most damaging example of the coordinated efforts by the Trump administration to sabotage” Obamacare. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., called it on Twitter “more jaw-dropping than anything President Trump tweets.”
The Justice Department’s refusal to defend the Affordable Care Act in federal court is a stunning attack on the rule of law, the stability of our health care system, and Americans’ access to affordable health care.
— Ed & Workforce Dems (@edworkforcedems) June 8, 2018
More jaw-dropping than anything Pres. Trump tweets is his administration’s relentless effort to take away healthcare and jack up your premiums.
Simply put: this is a refusal to defend ppl w/ preexisting conditions, chronic conditions & children like the @LittleLobbyists https://t.co/SjTSX4BJt8
— Senator Bob Menendez (@SenatorMenendez) June 8, 2018
“This is disgusting but not surprising,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. “A year and a half into sabotaging Americans’ healthcare, this may be President Trump’s meanest effort yet – he is working to let insurance companies refuse to cover sick people.”
