Defending the Affordable Care Act

On February 28, 2018, Texas filed the lawsuit to dismantle the ACA in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division, and was joined by 19 other states. On April 9, 2018, the Attorney General's Office and the Attorneys General of Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai'i, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota by and through its Department of Commerce, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia, sought to intervene in the federal lawsuit to vigorously defend the ACA and the millions of families across the country who rely on it for affordable care.

The motion to intervene was granted on May 16, 2018, and the Office of the Attorney General's coalition filed its opposition to Texas’ motion for a preliminary injunction on June 7, 2018. Texas’ requested preliminary injunction would harm millions of Americans by taking away vital healthcare services and stripping funding from our nation’s public health system, including funding for work to combat the opioid epidemic.

Timeline of Legal Actions

Support

A diverse group of patient groups, legal experts, economists, medical associations, and public health experts, have filed amicus briefs in Texas et al. v. United States et al. supporting California’s opposition to Texas and 19 other states’ motion seeking to halt the operation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) nationwide. The Texas-led lawsuit would end the ACA, threatening healthcare coverage for 20 million Americans – including nearly five million in California – and divert billions of dollars in funding for critical healthcare programs and services nationwide. Terminating the ACA would also strip 133 million Americans with pre-existing health conditions of the legal protection against discriminatory cancellation or denial of their health insurance.

A bipartisan group of attorneys general, legal scholars, economists, and all major medical organizations filed amicus briefs in the 5^th Circuit in support of California’s coalition. Links to the briefs can be found in our press release

• American Hospital Association, Federation of American Hospitals, Catholic Health Association, America’s Essential Hospitals and the Association of American Medical Colleges
• American Medical Association, American Academy of Allergy, Asthmas and Immunology, American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American Association of Public Health Physicians, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Correctional Physicians, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American College of Physicians, American College of Radiation Oncology, American Geriatrics Society, American Medical Women’s Association, American Osteopathic Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Society of Hematology, American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality, and Renal Physicians Association
• State Hospital Associations from Arkansas, California, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana,
• Bipartisan Economists: Stuart Altman, Susan Athey, Linda Blumberg, Barry Bosworth, Gary Burtless, Stuart Butler, Amitabh Chandra, Philip Cook, Janet Currie, David Cutler, Karen Davis, Peter Diamond, Mark Duggan, Douglas Elmendorf, Ezekiel Emanuel, Judith Feder, Austin Frakt, Matthew Fiedler, Craig Garthwaite, Martin Gaynor, Sherry Glied, Claudia Goldin, Vivian Ho, John Holahan, Jill Horwitz, Lawrence Katz, Timothy Jost, Genevieve M. Kenney, Frank Levy, Peter H. Lindert, John E. McDonough, Eric S. Maskin, Alan C. Monheit, Marilyn Moon, Joseph Newhouse, Len M. Nichols, Mark Pauly, Harold Pollack, Daniel Polsky, James B. Rebitzer, Michael Reich, Robert Reischauer, Thomas Rice, Alice M. Rivlin, Meredith Rosenthal, William Sage, Louise Sheiner, Katherine Swartz, Kenneth Thorpe, Laura Tyson, Paul N. Van de Water, Kevin Volpp, Gail Wilensky, Justin Wolfers, and Stephen Zuckerman
• Bipartisan Legal Scholars: Jonathan H. Adler, Nicholas Bagley, Abbe R. Gluck, and Ilya Somin
• Attorneys Generals from Ohio and Montana
• AHIP, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Alliance of Community Health Plans
• Patient Groups: American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, Global Healthy Living Foundation, Hemophilia Federation of America, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, March of Dimes, National Alliance on Mental Illness, National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, National Hemophilia Foundation, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and the Kennedy Forum
• Children’s Groups: First Focus and the Children’s Partnership
• Recognized Tribal Nations, Tribal Health Programs, and Tribal Organizations
• Disability Rights Groups: American Association of People with Disabilities, American Civil Liberties Union, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, and other leading disability rights organizations
• Cities and Counties: Santa Clara County, City of Chicago, City of Los Angeles, City of Alexandria, VA, City of Baltimore, MD, City of Berkeley, CA, Bexar County, TX, City Boulder, CO, Broward County, FL, Cameron County, TX, Town of Carrboro, NC, City of Columbus, OH, Cook County, IL, County of El Paso, TX, Holmes County, MS, City of Houston, TX, Jefferson County, MS, King County, WA, City of Lawrence, MA, County of Milwaukee, WI, City of Minneapolis, MN, County of Monroe, IN, City of New York, NY, City of Northampton, MA, City of Oakland, CA, Orange County, FL, City of Pittsburgh, PA, City of Portland, OR, Pulaski County, AR, County of Santa Fe, NM, City and County of San Francisco, CA, City of Seattle, WA, Shelby County, TN, and Travis County, TX
• Health Care Association
• Seniors Groups: AARP, AARP Foundation, Center for Medicare Advocacy, Justice in Aging
• National Women’s Law Center, National Partnership for Women and Families, Black Women’s Health Imperative, and American Medical Women’s Association
• Small Business Majority

Filings

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Defending the Affordable Care Act

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