Multiple Groups Join Attorney General James In Urging Supreme Court To Take Up ACA Case

Amici Include Organizations Representing Patients, Health Care
Professionals, Hospitals, Insurers, and More

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced that a diverse group of bipartisan patient groups, hospitals, health care providers, insurance companies, economists, and others filed multiple amicus briefs supporting a multistate effort to defend the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The amici urge the U.S. Supreme Court to grant expedited review of the coalition’s case and argue that such review is necessary to protect America’s health care system and the well-being of Americans across the nation.

“Despite what the president may tweet, all he wants to do is strip health care away from 133 million Americans with pre-existing conditions, make it harder for children and young people to obtain coverage, and charge Americans more for health care,” said Attorney General James. “Obamacare has been the law of the land for a decade, but President Trump and his Administration continue to look for ways to chip away all the protections of the health care reform law. A wide-ranging and diverse group of organizations is joining our fight today to protect the ACA because health care should be a right every American has access to, not a privilege for a select few.”

The amicus briefs filed today support the state coalition’s request for the Supreme Court to review a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that upheld a lower court ruling finding the ACA’s individual mandate to be unconstitutional, and that simultaneously called into question whether the remaining provisions of the law could still stand. The state coalition has asked that the Supreme Court grant expedited review of this decision and decide the case before the court’s term ends in June — a resolution that is needed to alleviate the uncertainty created by this litigation.

The ACA — also known as Obamacare — contains hundreds of protections that countless Americans rely on for health care, including:

• Prohibiting insurers from denying health insurance to the 133 million Americans with pre-existing conditions (like diabetes, cancer, or pregnancy) or from charging individuals higher premiums because of their health status;
• Allowing young people, up to the age of 26, to stay on their parents’ insurance;
• Expanding Medicaid to provide health coverage to more than 12 million Americans, including young children and babies;
• Providing tax credits and financial assistance to nine million low- and middle-income individuals and families, so they can access affordable health coverage through the ACA marketplace; and
• Preventing insurance companies from imposing lifetime and yearly insurance limits, among other benefits.

Amicus briefs in support of the state coalition’s request for expedited review by the Supreme Court were filed by: America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), National Hospital Associations, Small Business Majority Foundation, American Cancer Society, et al., State Hospital Associations, 
AARP, et al., and Bipartisan Scholars.

 Joining Attorney General James in defending the ACA are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota (by and through its Department of Commerce), Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia, as well as the governor of Kentucky.