WASHINGTON - On December 14, 2018, Judge O'Connor of the Federal District Court in Texas struck down Obamacare, declaring its individual mandate requiring Americans to have a basic level of health coverage, to be unconstitutional. The federal judge in Texas found that since a 2017 tax bill removed the fine for remaining uninsured, the individual mandate was now unconstitutional. It was originally upheld in the Supreme Court as a “tax,” but without a penalty, it cannot be considered so.
This ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed by a group of Republican governors and state generals but has faced opposition from many intervening Democratic states, promising to appeal the decision. Although there may not be an immediate effect, it will certainly make its way to the Supreme Court, threatening the survival of a landmark Healthcare law. The White House has assured the public that the Affordable Care Act will remain in effect while the ruling is being appealed.
Responding to the ruling on Saturday, Donald Trump declared, "Now Congress must pass a STRONG law that provides GREAT healthcare and protects pre-existing conditions."
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/14/health/obamacare-unconstitutional-texas-judge.html
1. Will Judge O'Connor's decisions to strike down the ACA be overturned on appeal? Will Congress pass a new healthcare law during the Trump Administration if the Affordable Care Act is not overturned on appeal?
2. Is is possible to strike down the individual mandate while keeping all of the good provisions of the ACA?
3. Why is Donald Trump calling for a new law that protects preexisting conditions when there already a provision in the Affordable Care Act?
1. Judge O' Connor's decision to strike down the ACA will likely be overturned on appeal. The Supreme Court case National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius established that the individual mandate is constitutional. Therefore, the Supreme Court is unlikely to go against that precedent. If the ACA is not overturned on appeal, Congress will likely to fail to pass a new healthcare law. Republicans attempted to pass a healthcare reform bill in 2017 and failed, even with majorities in the Senate and the House. Given the fact that Republicans now only have a majority in the Senate, it will be even less possible to pass a new healthcare bill.
ReplyDelete2. I don't think it is possible to strike down the individual mandate while keeping the rest of the ACA. If the individual mandate is struck down, the entire ACA will likely be declared unconstitutional. Thus, Congress will have to amend the ACA and then pass it. This will be impossible to do without cutting the provisions that currently exist within the ACA that Republicans don't like, given the Republican majority in the Senate.
3. Donald Trump is calling for a new law that protects preexisting conditions in order to satisfy his base. The last time he attempted to do away with the Affordable Care Act, many of his followers were concerned about higher insurance costs/being rejected from insurance plans due to preexisting conditions. By reassuring people that the "preexisting condition" portion of the ACA will not be done away with, he is ensuring that his approval ratings don't decrease if the ACA were struck down.
1. Jude O'Connor's decision is likely to be partially overturned, but I think that the conservatives on the Supreme Court will ultimately keep most of it in appeal. The Republicans in the congress have already passed some healthcare reform, but I firmly believe that the congress will try to change more if the Reps win in SCOTUS
ReplyDelete2. I cannot reasonably believe that the individual mandate helps the ACA in any way because penalizing people that don't want to buy health insurance is helpful to Socialized Medicine in the US. Furthermore, I don't believe that the ACA is beneficial to the United States from an economic POV, so I don't think that neither the mandate nor the ACA should stay
3. I think that Trump is calling for preexisting condition coverage because it's popular in the Democratic & Independent bases, and I think that he wants to try to make a deal on healthcare reform, and the voters aren't that educated about the ACA. Furthermore, I honestly think it's a possibility that the POTUS just didn't know about the coverage provision
1. The fifth circuit will likely overturn it on appeal. If it makes it to the Supreme court, Roberts will also rule against the decision in all likelihood. With a divided legislature there is little chance for a new healthcare bill.
ReplyDelete2. It is complicated, as it is written now, no. Since the individual mandate is one of the main parts of the bill, it will likely not work. Also, since the penalties are now gone, the mandate cannot be called a tax, and it is now just a congressional act to compel commerce, which is undoubtetly unconstiutional.
3. Trump calling for protections of preexisting conditions is an attempt to pander to voters. He is probably prop[osing the bill to cover these conditions so they can then move forward with getting rid of the rest of the ACA.