The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals struck a major blow against Obamacare this week, ruling that it’s individual mandate requiring every American to have health insurance violates the Constitution.
“The individual mandate is unconstitutional because it can no longer be read as a tax, and there is no other constitutional provision that justifies this exercise of congressional power,” the opinion stated.
“On the severability question, we remand to the district court to provide additional analysis of the provisions of the ACA as they currently exist,” it continued, setting the stage for further consideration of whether the entire statutory framework of the Affordable Care Act should be discarded now that the individual mandate portion of it has been deemed unlawful.
In March, the Trump Justice Department wrote a letter to the 5th Circuit that voiced agreement with the lower court’s decision that Obamacare should be voided in its entirety because Congress had eliminated the financial penalty on Americans who did not obtain insurance coverage. “The Department of Justice has determined that the district court’s judgment should be affirmed,” it read. “[T]he United States is not urging that any portion of the district court’s judgment be reversed.”
Administration reaction
In response to the ruling from the appeals court, the president released a statement in support.
“Today’s decision in Texas v. Azar is a win for all Americans and confirms what I have said all along: that the individual mandate, by far the worst element of Obamacare, is unconstitutional,” he declared.
Trump promised that “this decision will not alter the current healthcare system,” adding, “My Administration continues to work to provide access to high-quality healthcare at a price you can afford, while strongly protecting those with pre-existing conditions.”
“The radical healthcare changes being proposed by the far left would strip Americans of their current coverage. I will not let this happen,” he went on. “Providing affordable, high-quality healthcare will always be my priority.”
“They are trying to take away your healthcare, and I am trying to give the American people the best healthcare in the world,” Trump asserted.
Appeal promised
However, not everyone was so enthusiastic about the ruling. Among those objecting is California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who released a statement of his own in which he promised an immediate appeal.
“California will move swiftly to challenge this decision because this could mean the difference between life and death for so many Americans and their families,” it read.
Becerra went on the contend that the decision “has created real and long-term uncertainty for all Americans, but certainly those who have used the essential benefits of the Affordable Care Act to cover themselves and their family.”
No comments: