WASHINGTON D.C. – Democrats are pointing to the coronavirus pandemic in an effort to strengthen their argument against dismantling the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. This happening as President Donald Trump vows to urge the Supreme Court to overturn the statute, despite U.S. Attorney General William Barr advising otherwise.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra continues to lead a coalition of 20 states, and D.C. in the fight against the repeal and replacement of the ACA. On Wednesday, they filed a briefing to the U.S. Supreme Court, defending the ACA.
The House echoed Becerra’s briefing with their own on Wednesday and said although Congress didn’t enact the ACA with a pandemic in mind “the nation’s current public-health emergency has made it impossible to deny that broad access to affordable health is… an indispensable precondition to the social intercourse on which our security, welfare, and liberty ultimately depend.”
Barr warned the Trump administration about the political ramifications of trying to tear down the ACA during the coronavirus. But Wednesday, the Department of Justice filed a briefing as well, agreeing with a Republican coalition that the entire law should be destroyed.
The case originates to a Texas-led effort backed by the Trump administration where in March the high court agreed to hear arguments that said the law’s “individual mandate” is “unconstitutional,” which is the requirement that all Americans have healthcare or pay a penalty.
In a press call Wednesday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Becerra said the Obamacare case will be heard by the Supreme Court at the end of the year, likely before the coronavirus goes away, which they indicated could kill more people who wouldn’t have proper healthcare.
“You know when we did the bill it was about the health of the American people, the financial health of the American people; we had to do the bill, the costs were unsustainable… physical health and fiscal health,” Pelosi said. “And here we are, a time of extraordinary heartbreak and as lives around us are being shattered by the coronavirus, the protections of the Affordable Care Act are more important than ever. Every day we see how access to affordable healthcare is a matter of life and death.”
When asked about the ACA case, President Trump said: “Obamacare is a disaster, but we’ve made it barely acceptable. What we want to do is terminate it and give great health care.”
President Trump has yet to explain what could replace Obamacare if it is repealed.
“We are defending the Affordable Care Act because the Trump administration chose to walk away from its legal obligation to defend our federal law because this is not a moment to abandon Americans who need to know they have the health coverage they need to protect their families from the coronavirus,” Becerra said. “And we intend to win.”
Wednesday, the high court heard arguments about whether the Trump administration could allow religious employers the ability to deny women birth control coverage under the ACA. There were about 1.5 hours of arguments where the justices appeared divided.