Different Takes: Judge’s Health Law Ruling Likely To Boomerang On GOP; Lessons On The Importance Of Protecting Preexisting Conditions

The Wall Street Journal: Texas ObamaCare Blunder
No one opposes ObamaCare more than we do, and Democrats are now confirming that it was designed as a way-station to government-run health care. But a federal judge’s ruling Friday that the law is unconstitutional is likely to be overturned on appeal and may boomerang politically on Republicans. (12/16)

The Hill: What Cutting Protections For Pre-Existing Conditions Means For People With Chronic Diseases
Coverage for pre-existing conditions is critical for the millions of Americans living with chronic diseases, and it’s a matter of decency and existing law. Until the Affordable Care Act, people with pre-existing conditions were denied insurance coverage, charged higher premiums and offered limited benefits. Friday’s decision by a federal judge in Texas that threatens coverage of pre-existing conditions leaves millions in jeopardy a month after the topic dominated the midterm elections. (Derek Rapp, 12/15)

Bloomberg: Obamacare Ruling: Congress Can Save The ACA
For the moment, nothing will change. The ACA will stand while appeals are filed, probably until the case reaches the Supreme Court. The new ruling may well be overthrown, but those who depend on the ACA are left stranded in uncertainty. The timing could hardly be worse. Enrollment in individual insurance is already down this year, and the population of uninsured Americans stands to rise.It’s maddening that the ACA’s legal troubles could be easily resolved. Congress needs only to restore the individual mandate’s tax penalties. Keep in mind, the mandate still exists: Americans are still required to have health insurance. All Congress did last year was set the penalty for failing to comply at zero. (12/16)

The New York Times: What The Lawless Obamacare Ruling Means
In a shocking legal ruling, a federal judge in Texas wiped Obamacare off the books Friday night. The decision, issued after business hours on the eve of the deadline to enroll for health insurance for 2019, focuses on the so-called individual mandate. Yet it purports to declare the entire law unconstitutional — everything from the Medicaid expansion, the ban on pre-existing conditions, Medicare and pharmaceutical reforms to much, much more. (Jonathan H. Adler and Abbe R. Gluck, 12/15)

The Washington Post: The Ruling Finding The Affordable Care Act Unconstitutional Is Raw Judicial Activism And Impossible To Defend
Late Friday night, a district court in Texas declared the entire Affordable Care Act unconstitutional — lock, stock and barrel. That includes not only the individual mandate and the protections for people with preexisting conditions, but also the entire Medicaid expansion as well as a host of other ACA rules without any connection at all to health insurance. The logic of the ruling is as difficult to follow as it is to defend, and it sets the stage for yet another round of high-stakes constitutional litigation over the future of health care in the United States. (Nicholas Bagley, 12/15)

The New York Times: A Partisan Ruling On Obamacare
After sitting on a ruling for months, a federal judge in Texas has given the Trump administration and a group of Republican-led states exactly what they asked for, and then some: the invalidation of the entire Affordable Care Act. Don't panic. The ruling, issued late on Friday and only one day before the end of the law’s annual open enrollment period, is not a model of constitutional or statutory analysis. It’s instead a predictable exercise in motivated reasoning — drafted by a jurist with a history of ruling against policies and laws advanced by President Barack Obama. (Cristian Farias, 12/15)

USA Today: Trump Ensures 2020 Will Be Another Health Care Debacle For Republicans
President Donald Trump apparently hasn't had enough of the health care fueled butt-kicking handed to him and his party in the midterm elections. He heralded as "Great news for America!" a ruling from a Texas judge Friday that found the entire Affordable Care Act unconstitutional. Once again, Trump and Republicans have put taking away health care at the top of the agenda, this time for the 2020 presidential election. (Andy Slavitt, 12/16)

USA Today: Obamacare Ruling Is Latest Republican Boost For Government Health Care
What is the strongest political force driving America toward national health care? No, it’s not Sen. Bernie Sanders and his “Democratic Socialist” minions. It’s the Republican Party. Hang on, don’t Republicans stand foursquare against a government takeover of the entire U.S. health care system? So they say. But the GOP’s pig-headed opposition to less drastic ways to make sure everyone has coverage is stimulating Americans’ appetite for a bigger government role in health care — and it will only be fueled by a federal judge's ruling Friday night that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional. (Will Marshall, 12/16)