Court rules Dem states can intervene in ObamaCare lawsuit

A federal judge granted a request from states looking to defend ObamaCare in a lawsuit filed in Texas. 

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, and 16 other state attorneys general in Democratic states, were granted the right to intervene in the lawsuit that seeks to dismantle the Affordable Care Act (ACA). 

{mosads}The lawsuit was filed in February by 20 state attorneys general from Republican states, led by Texas. 

“The goal of Texas’ lawsuit is to leave Americans without health insurance, forcing them to choose between their health and other needs,” Becerra said in a statement. 

“Today’s ruling allows us to protect the health and wellbeing of these Americans by defending affordable access to healthcare. Before the Affordable Care Act, Americans had shorter lives and paid twice as much for their healthcare as other developed countries. The passage of the ACA was the first step toward fixing that problem. We must continue to move forward, not backward.”

Becerra and the other Democratic attorneys general sought to intervene in the case because the lawsuit was technically filed against the Trump administration, which likely won’t put up a strong defense of the ACA given its opposition to the law. 

Republican attorneys general argue in their lawsuit that the ACA is no longer constitutional because Republicans in Congress eliminated the fine for not having insurance, but not the requirement itself. 

The Republican attorneys general argue that the Supreme Court in 2012 upheld the fine, not the mandate itself, and now the law is illegal.

Legal experts have said the lawsuit is a long shot.