President Donald Trump and Senate and House Democrats have reignited the debate over Obamacare following controversial federal ruling finding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) unconstitutional.
On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Reed O'Connor ruled the landmark health care law unconstitutional, reports USA Today.
Since its inception, Republicans have vowed to get rid of the law mandating American citizens have health insurance. The ruling sides with Texas and 19 states who argued against the bill. They claimed it put a strain on state-supported insurance rolls.
Bloomberg notes last year's repeal of the tax penalty is the primary cause for the federal judge's ruling. This tax penalty helped the U.S. Supreme Court decide the ACA was indeed constitutional in 2012.
“Today’s ruling is an assault on 133 million Americans with preexisting conditions, on the 20 million Americans who rely on the ACA’s consumer protections for health care, and on America’s faithful progress toward affordable health care for all Americans,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement.
However, the White House released a statement late Friday reassuring those enrolling the ruling will not affect their coverage until the law is repealed and replaced.
There will be “no impact to current coverage or coverage in a 2019 plan,” Seema Verma, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said in a statement via Twitter.
Democrats have called the ruling "absurd" and "monstrous." Speaker-designate Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) plans to spearhead efforts to intervene through the appeals process.
BREAKING: A Texas judge just sided with Trump and the Republicans to rule the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional. This endangers the health care of tens of millions of Americans, especially those with pre-existing conditions. We *must* fight back to save our health care.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) December 15, 2018
Tonight’s absurd ruling exposes the monstrous endgame of the GOP’s all-out assault on people w/ pre-existing conditions & the ACA. When @HouseDemocrats take the gavel, the House will swiftly intervene in the appeals process to #ProtectOurCare!
— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) December 15, 2018
This wrongly decided attack on Obamacare risks the health coverage of millions. We'll never rest in our efforts to protect & expand health care for all Americans. SCOTUS previously upheld key provisions in the ACA—this federal court ruling must not stand. https://t.co/HYtrvzKVMG
— Sen. Cory Booker (@SenBooker) December 15, 2018
When a wave a Democrats enter the House in 2019, expect a reignited fight over health care.
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