The Trump administration will be asking a federal court to strike down key Obamacare regulations protecting patients with pre-existing illnesses just two months before the midterm elections.
A judge has set the oral argument for Sept. 10 for the case, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The date is also roughly six weeks before Obamacare’s Nov. 1 open enrollment, during which certain customers can sign up for coverage that is subsidized by the federal government while others are expected to learn they will be facing stiff premium hikes.
Democrats have made the Obamacare lawsuit a centerpiece of their attacks against Republicans and President Trump. They argue that the party is intent on “sabotaging” Obamacare, including the more popular parts of the law.
They also have warned that the case could make it to the Supreme Court under a new makeup and further threaten Obamacare regulations. Trump recently tapped Judge Brett Kavanaugh to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, a move that would tilt the court more conservative.
The lawsuit is the result of a suit filed by 20 states, arguing that because the tax bill signed into law by Trump late last year eliminated the Obamacare penalties for going uninsured beginning in 2019, the rest of the law must also fall.
Instead of defending Obamacare, lawyers for the Department of Justice agreed with the plaintiffs that Obamacare wasn’t constitutional, but specifically asked the court to strike down the regulations requiring insurers offer coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, such as cancer or diabetes, without charging them more.
These parts, the Trump administration is arguing, cannot be severed from the individual mandate that requires most people to obtain healthcare coverage.
