Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Health Care Players Present Uncommonly United Front In Texas Lawsuit Challenging Health Law
The Washington Post: Broad Health-Care Coalition Opposes Administration Stance In Anti-ACA Lawsuit
A broad swath of health-care constituencies weighed in on Thursday to oppose a lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act, forming an uncommonly united front against a decision by the Trump administration not to defend significant parts of the law. Hospitals, doctors, medical schools, patient-advocacy groups, the health insurance industry and others filed briefs in a federal court in Texas, disputing the argument of 20 Republican-led states and the Justice Department that all or part of the 2010 law is unconstitutional. In all, 11 friend-of-the-court briefs were filed. From various vantage points, each argues that a ruling in favor of this latest challenge to the ACA’s constitutionality would “have a devastating impact on doctors, patients, and the American health care system as a whole,” as a brief from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry puts it. (Goldstein, 6/14)
In other news on the health law —
Denver Post: Coloradans Protected From The Comeback Of Pre-Existing Conditions In Health Insurance
The Trump administration shook the health care world last week when the Department of Justice announced that it will no longer defend in court key protections of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The announcement — coming in a case brought by Republican leaders in 20 states (but not Colorado) — could mean the end of insurance protections for people across the country with pre-existing conditions or high-cost medical needs. The states argue that those rules are unconstitutional, especially in light of a vote in Congress last year to slash to zero dollars the penalty for not having health insurance, essentially rendering meaningless the mandate that all people be covered. (Ingold, 6/14)
The Star Tribune: Despite Uncertainty, Minnesota Health Plan Premium Requests Expected Friday
Minnesotans who buy health insurance on their own will get their first hints Friday about premiums for 2019 with the scheduled release of data on the rates being requested by carriers. The information from regulators is expected even as new questions are brewing at the federal level about the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the health law that started fundamentally reshaping the individual market in 2014. (Snowbeck, 6/14)
