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Republican Federal Appeals Court Seems Determined to Strike Down Obamacare
This is a nightmare. The 5th Circuit looks poised to destroy all or most of the ACA—stripping healthcare from millions—on the basis of an absurd legal theory that is impossible to explain with a straight face.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the case of Texas v. Azar, a suit brought by 18 state attorneys general — and endorsed by Trump’s administration — that marks the latest legal challenge to the ACA. The hearing comes in the wake of a 2018 decision by District Court Judge Reed O’Connor, who determined that the ACA is unconstitutional now that Congress has rolled back the penalty requiring everyone who did not carry health insurance to pay a fine.
Legal experts on both sides of the aisle have argued that O’Connor’s reasoning was faulty and likely to be overturned by the Fifth Circuit. Questions from two of the three judges hearing the case on Tuesday [7/9/19], however, indicated that they, too, were interested in gauging the constitutionality of the law as it stands.
The Republicans Judges came to court today wearing their partisan hats. Judges Jennifer Elrod and Kurt Englehardt peppered questions in a mocking tone. At one point, Englehardt even accused lawyers DEFENDING healthcare of making an argument that betrays the American Revolutionary War. What? The Democratic Judge did not speak and remains overwhelmingly likely to reject this attack on Obamacare.
The lawsuit, which is supported by the Trump administration, puts at risk coverage for 20 million people covered by the ACA, as well as the law’s popular protections for insurance protections. The closely watched case is expected to eventually move to the Supreme Court, which has saved the law twice already, and could ultimately decide Obamacare’s fate next year in the height of the 2020 campaign.
If the bench of three justices decides to reject O’Connor’s decision later this year, it could discourage the Supreme Court from taking up the lawsuit, leaving in place the bulk of President Barack Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement. Conversely, the Fifth Circuit could also reaffirm his position and send yet another constitutional challenge to the ACA in front of the nine justices, who’d likely have no choice but to hear the case.
Two Republican appointees on the three-judge panel frequently interrupted attorneys to question whether the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate is unconstitutional and if not whether the entire law could stand without it.
The ACA’s future appeared murky after two hours of oral arguments at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals....
An estimated 24,000 Americans will die every single year, who otherwise would have lived, if Obamacare is ultimately struck down.
The stakes of the lawsuit are significant: If Obamacare were, in fact, ruled unconstitutional, that could mean that health insurers could once again refuse coverage or otherwise discriminate against patients who have preexisting conditions. Additionally, it would mean that roughly 20 million people who obtained insurance after the ACA was implemented could lose it.
The three-judge appellate panel is expected to rule in the coming months. They could back the lower court ruling invalidating all of Obamacare or overturn it entirely. The judges may also determine that the elimination of the individual mandate penalty only renders certain parts of the ACA unconstitutional, such as its protections for individuals with preexisting medical conditions.
Texas v. United States appears likely to end in the triumph of partisanship over law, at least in the Fifth Circuit.
Sources:
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/09/obamacare-lawsuit-1404171