The administration of US President Donald Trump appealed to the Supreme Court the striking down of Obamacare, asserting that the individual mandate is unlawful and it struck down the rest of the law.
On Thursday, the late-night brief that was filed amidst the coronavirus pandemic conveys a major repercussion for the upcoming presidential election. If the request of the administration will be agreed upon, insurance coverage over 20 million Americans will be affected and their protections for the pre-existing conditions will be nullified, NBC News reported.
The administration's brief came along with the US recorded deaths from Covid-19 of around 120,000 and about 2.5 million confirmed cases in the US. On Wednesday, the state recorded its highest daily new infections with more than 45,500.
For about 25 million people, who are out of work and accumulating jobless benefits, the ACA's marketplaces and expansion of Medicaid bestow avenues on gaining funded health insurance with consumer protection.
In 2016, Trump advocated on canceling the ACA but fell short in Congress in 2017. His legal position is unwavering with his will to overrule the achievements of President Barack Obama.
Health care is a primary concern of voters in surveys, and Joe Biden, the presumed nominee of the Democratic and the vice president when the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare became law, has made it a top priority to enhance and protect it if elected.
According to CNN, in the brief, Noel Francisco, US Solicitor General, together with other officials of the Justice Department sided with Texas in a case headed by Republican attorneys general, asserting that after the Congress has scrapped the penalty for nonconformity the requirement for citizens to buy insurance is no longer justifiable.
The statement released by the Justice Department says that the individual mandate could not be separated from the whole legal Act.
The brief covers a section arguing that the pre-existing condition rules of the Affordable Care Act must be repealed as well. Those rules prohibit insurers from turning down customers or charging them depending on their gender, age, and health status. The position contradicts what President Trump insists that he will guard the Americans with the pre-existing conditions.
In a report by BBC, it was stated that the White House failed to prepare a replacement proposal in case the appeal succeeds in court.
While overturning the ACA is a hot topic with conservatives, some Republicans want to let go of the matter due to fear of political blowback. The repercussions of Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare did some favor to the Democrats in capturing the majority of the House in 2018.
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., chair of the Senate's health committee, named the position of the Justice Department as far-fetched.
Legal experts commented that the case is a long shot. Chief Justice John Roberts and together with the four liberal-leaning members are the ones who upheld Obamacare in 2012 against a constitutional challenge.
The DOJ's late-night filing has been criticized by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
In Thursday night, Pelosi uttered that Trump and the Republicans' crusade to tear off the benefits and protections of the Affordable Care Act amidst the coronavirus pandemic is an inscrutable cruelty act.
