Supreme Court Grants Review Of ACA Repeal Case

Supreme Court Grants Review of ACA Repeal Case

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today applauded the U.S. Supreme Court for agreeing to review a case that seeks to repeal the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA) and put tens of millions of Americans’ health care at risk. The court agreed to review a recent Fifth Circuit decision that held the ACA’s individual mandate unconstitutional and called into question whether the remaining provisions of the law could still stand. Those important ACA provisions include guaranteed coverage for the 133 million Americans with pre-existing conditions, subsidies that help working families afford health coverage, investments in public health programs to prevent and combat public health threats like the opioid epidemic, and supporting lab capacity and immunization infrastructure for threats like novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

“The Affordable Care Act has been the law of the land for a decade now and despite efforts by President Trump, his Administration, and Congressional Republicans to take us backwards, we will not strip health coverage away from millions of Americans,” said Attorney General James. “While the president has lied in his tweets, we know the truth is that this is just another attempt to deny coverage to 133 million Americans with preexisting conditions and make it harder for the rest of the nation to afford quality, affordable health coverage. We are taking this fight all the way to the Supreme Court because we will never stop fighting the president’s efforts to kick Americans off their health plans.”

Attorney General James — along with a coalition of 19 states and the District of Columbia — petitioned the Supreme Court for review in order to protect Americans’ health care and resolve the uncertainty created by the Fifth Circuit decision, which threatens the health of millions of Americans, as well as doctors, clinics, and the health care market. 

Attorney General James and the coalition will lead the defense of the ACA in order to protect the important advancements in health care access made under the law, including:

  • More than 12 million Americans now receive health coverage through the ACA’s Medicaid expansion;
  • Nearly nine million individuals nationwide receive tax credits to help subsidize their health insurance coverage through individual marketplaces;
  • Millions of working families rely on high-quality employer-sponsored health insurance plans;
  • Important protections prohibit 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; and
  • Nearly $1.3 trillion in federal funding has been dedicated to keeping Americans healthy and covered, which includes spending through Medicaid expansion and public health dollars.

And in New York:

  • The state uninsured rate reached its lowest point ever recorded in 2018 — 4.7-percent;
  • More than 4.7 million New Yorkers now receive health coverage through the ACA, including nearly 3.3 million on Medicaid;
  • 58-percent of enrollees were expected to receive $636 million in tax credits to help subsidize the cost of health care in 2019 alone; and
  • The average monthly premium tax credit available to eligible Qualified Health Plan enrollees in 2019 was $335.

Joining Attorney General James in taking this fight to the Supreme Court 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.