NBC News reports:
The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to wipe out Obamacare, arguing that the individual mandate is unconstitutional and that the rest of the law must be struck down with it.
The late-night brief, filed Thursday in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, carries major implications for the presidential election. If the justices agree, it would cost an estimated 20 million Americans their insurance coverage and nullify protections for pre-existing conditions.
The Trump administration’s brief comes as the U.S. has recorded more than 120,000 deaths from COVID-19, with nearly 2.5 million confirmed cases. On Wednesday, the nation hit a new record for the highest daily total of new infections reported with more than 45,500.
NPR reports:
Solicitor General Noel Francisco, the government’s chief advocate before the Supreme Court, said in a brief that the other provisions of Obamacare are impossible to separate from the individual mandate and that “it necessarily follows that the rest of the ACA must also fall.”
Shortly after the brief appeared on the court’s docket late Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement: “President Trump and the Republicans’ campaign to rip away the protections and benefits of the Affordable Care Act in the middle of the coronavirus crisis is an act of unfathomable cruelty.”
Eliminating the ACA would end medical insurance for more than 20 million Americans. It would also end widely popular provisions of the law, such as extending parents’ coverage to children up to the age of 26, and prohibiting insurance companies from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions.
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to overturn the Affordable Care Act. If successful, this would bring a permanent end to the health insurance program known as Obamacare and wipe out coverage for as many as 23 million Americans. https://t.co/wvUCqmqk3F
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 26, 2020
Joe Biden warns against dismantling the Affordable Care Act: “If Donald Trump prevails in court, insurers would be allowed once again to strip away coverage, jack up premiums simply because of the battle they survived fighting coronavirus.” https://t.co/hCxX4nK7EM
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) June 26, 2020
In the midst of a pandemic and without an alternative health plan of its own, Trump formally called on the U.S. Supreme Court to completely strike down the Affordable Care Act.#COVIDiotInChief https://t.co/bEfPeQrraE
— Democratic Coalition (@TheDemCoalition) June 26, 2020
In the dead of night, the Trump Administration has once again asked the Supreme Court to rip away the protections and benefits of the Affordable Care Act in the middle of the coronavirus crisis. #ProtectOurCare https://t.co/IB0oglIMDV
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) June 26, 2020