Press Release  AG Healey Joins Multistate Coalition to Defend the Affordable Care Act in U.S. Supreme Court

Boston — Attorney General Maura Healey today joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general in filing a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court to defend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) against efforts by the Trump Administration and a coalition of states led by Texas to repeal the law and endanger the healthcare coverage of tens of millions of Americans.

Today’s brief asks the Supreme Court to uphold the ACA after a recent decision in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held the ACA’s individual mandate unconstitutional and called into question whether the remaining provisions of the law could still stand. According to the attorneys general, the Fifth Circuit decision jeopardizes healthcare coverage for 133 million Americans with pre-existing conditions, critical public health programs that help fight COVID-19, subsidies that help working families access care, and much more. 

“The Affordable Care Act provides critical health care coverage to millions of Massachusetts residents and should remain the law of the land,” said AG Healey. “We urge the Supreme Court to uphold the ACA and protect Americans’ access to coverage, particularly while our country continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.”

AG Healey joined a coalition of attorneys general led by California in defending the ACA after a Texas-led coalition whose position is supported by the Trump Administration sued to strike it down in February 2018. AG Healey and the coalition challenged the plaintiff’s argument that the ACA had been rendered unconstitutional by changes to the minimum coverage requirement adopted by Congress in 2017. This challenge by the attorneys general has drawn support from bipartisan groups of scholars and economists, as well as public health experts, hospital and provider associations, health insurers, patient groups, and cities across the country. The coalition petitioned the Supreme Court to review the Fifth Circuit decision in January 2020.

Today’s filing makes clear that patients, doctors, hospitals, employers, states, pharmaceutical companies and more will be impacted by the looming uncertainty of the Fifth Circuit’s decision and highlights important advancements in health care access made under the ACA, including:

• More than 12 million Americans receiving coverage through Medicaid expansion, including 350,000 Massachusetts residents;
   
• Nearly 9 million individuals nationwide receiving tax credits to help afford health insurance coverage through individual marketplaces;
   
• Millions of working families relying on high-quality employer-sponsored insurance plans;
   
• Important protections prohibiting insurers from denying health insurance to the 133 million Americans, including 2.5 million Massachusetts residents, with pre-existing conditions or charging individuals higher premiums because of their health status; and,
   
• Nearly $1.3 trillion in federal funding dedicated to keeping Americans healthy and covered, including Medicaid expansion and public health dollars.

Today’s brief defending the ACA is led by California Xavier Becerra. Joining AG Healey in filing today’s brief are the attorneys general from Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia, as well as the Governor of Kentucky and the Minnesota Department of Commerce.

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