The Affordable Care Act once again faces legal hurdles after
President Donald Trump and his administration supported a lawsuit
questioning the health-care law's constitutionality.
If the
lawsuit succeeds and the courts decide to repeal the Affordable Care
Act, also known as Obamacare, millions of Americans could lose their
health care if a replacement plan is not established. Though Trump
wanted to replace the law with a new Republican plan before the 2020
elections, the GOP refused to bring forward its own proposal until it wins a majority in the House of Representatives.
The Department of Justice on Wednesday asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to overturn Obamacare after a federal judge in Texas ruled
the law unconstitutional, citing the removal of a tax penalty levied
against citizens without health insurance. The Trump administration
reduced the tax penalty, called the individual mandate, to $0 in the
2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Though Obamacare remains law while it awaits deliberation in the courts,
about 25 million Americans may be left uninsured if the law is struck
down in its entirety.
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