Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

The Trump Administration Is Now Trying to End Protections for Those With Pre-Existing Conditions and Democrats Are Hitting Back

The Trump Administration Is Now Trying to End Protections for Those With Pre-Existing Conditions and Democrats Are Hitting Back
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 08: U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he departs the White House June 8, 2018 in Washington, DC. Trump is traveling to Canada to attend the G7 summit before heading to Singapore on Saturday for a planned U.S.-North Korea summit. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Repealing Obamacare without Congress.

The United States Department of Justice filed a brief in federal court on Thursday claiming the provision in the Affordable Care Act which guarantees coverage to people with pre-existing conditions is unconstitutional.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions wrote that DOJ will refuse to defend protections for people with pre-existing conditions, which is one of the most popular aspects of the ACA, also known as Obamacare. Sessions also said DOJ will no longer defend statutes that bar insurers for charging different rates based on gender, age, or health status.


Last fall, the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act, throttled through Congress by the Republican majority and signed by President Donald Trump, repealed the Obamacare individual mandate, which required all Americans to sign up for health insurance or pay a fine.

Thursday's move by the Justice Department is the latest in a pattern of sabotage of President Barack Obama's signature domestic achievement by the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress and in statehouses across the country.

“Congress found that enforcing guaranteed issue and community-rating requirements without an individual mandate would allow individuals to game the system by waiting until they were sick to purchase health insurance, thereby increasing the price of insurance for everyone else — the polar opposite of what Congress sought in enacting the ACA,” DOJ said in its brief.

In a nutshell, Sessions is saying that people with pre-existing conditions are waiting for their chance to scam the system by only buying insurance when they get sick. This is a demonstrably false and ridiculous assertion. I can say as someone with a pre-existing condition - being without insurance is not an option. These protections are in place so people can get the care they need without having to go bankrupt in the process.

In February, 20 states sued the federal government, claiming that without the individual mandate, the ACA is no longer constitutional. Sessions argued that without the individual mandate, requiring coverage for pre-existing conditions and prohibiting insurers from charging members of a community different rates are also unconstitutional.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) slammed the court filing, referring to it as "cynical sabotage."

"Tonight, the Trump Administration took its cynical sabotage campaign of Americans’ health care to a stunning new low," Pelosi said in a statement. "Once again, Republicans are trying to destroy protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions. The Trump Administration is perpetuating the same cruel vision of higher costs and less coverage that House Republicans voted for in the monstrosity of Trumpcare."

Insurers are set to announce premiums for 2019 shortly before the midterms in November, and rates are expected to jump significantly due to the Trump administration's reckless meddling in the insurance market. Uncertainty in the insurance market causes premiums to rise, and this is what can be expected in the wake of the Trump administration's assault on health care.

Larry Levitt, a senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation, tore into DOJ's position on Twitter, saying that premiums will increase due to uncertainty.

He also pointed out that 27 percent of Americans have some sort of pre-existing condition. The ten states with the highest rates all voted overwhelmingly for Trump in the 2016 election.

Should the courts side with Sessions and the Justice Department, the Affordable Care Act's days may be numbered.

Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) vowed to fight Republicans "every step of the way" to keep people's health insurance in place.

Brian Schatz, Hawaii's freshman Democratic Senator, said that Republicans are "going after the most popular" provision in the ACA.

Last year, a Kaiser Family Foundation poll showed that 70 percent of respondents favored prohibiting insurers from charging higher premiums for people with pre-existing conditions. Among Republicans, 59 percent felt the same way.

Randy Bryce, the Democrat vying for House Speaker Paul Ryan's seat in Wisconsin, said that "we have to stop" Trump.

"Terrible," tweeted Senator Mark Warner (D-VA).

Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) called Sessions' request "unconscionable."

Beto O'Rourke, the Democrat challenging incumbent Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz, noted that 11 million Texans under the age of 65 have pre-existing conditions. "That's half of us," he said.

Nearly 2 million Texas have been able to gain coverage thanks to the provision.

Others accused Trump of politicizing the Justice Department as a response to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into the Trump campaign's relationships with Russia and other foreign confederates.

As the future of the ACA becomes more uncertain, Americans are being left with fewer and fewer options when it comes to health insurance. For the millions of people who rely on Medicaid, or who don't get insurance through their employers, there could be a world of hurt coming. And voters should keep this in mind when they go to the ballot box a mere 5 months from now.

More from News

Screenshots from @culinaryem's TikTok video
@culinaryem/TikTok

Wedding Caterer Goes Viral For Her Reaction To Discovering Groom Was Having An Affair

It's easy to say that we would intervene if we realized that someone was cheating, but would we actually follow through when it happened?

That was the question chef, caterer, and TikToker @culinaryem faced when she planned to cater a wedding for a "lovely couple" she nicknamed "Sweet" (the bride) and "Dirtbag" (the groom).

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @dani_b_unfiltered's TikTok video
@dani_b_unfiltered/TikTok

Woman Hilariously Panics After She Accidentally Child-Locks Her Dinner In The Oven

We've all been "hangry" before and know how important that Snickers bar can be.

Or in TikToker @dani_b_unfiltered's case, it was a potato that was baking in the oven.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rob McElhenney
Gilbert Flores/ Variety/Getty Images

Rob McElhenney Just Shared A Video Explaining His 'Kinda Douchey' Decision To Legally Change His Name

What's in a name? A lot, apparently.

To be fair, a name represents a lot of things: a person's identity, the family they originate from, and possibly even some of the cultural and historical background of that family.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic
Disney/Marvel Studios

Pedro Pascal Adjusts Accent

Pedro Pascal was advised to tone down the Mid-Atlantic accent for his upcoming role as the stretchy Mister Fantastic/Reed Richards in Fantastic Four: First Steps.

In a video interview with Vanity Fair, he reflected on his past and current work and talked about working with a dialect coach for the Marvel movie, which is set to premiere on July 25th.

Keep ReadingShow less
Country Singer Gavin Adcock went on a drunken rant over Beyonce's "Cowboy Carter" success.
Danielle Del Valle/Getty Images; Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Country singer rants over Beyoncé album

Country singer Gavin Adcock became the title of his next album, “Own Worst Enemy,” after going on an unhinged rant about the legitimacy of Beyoncé's Grammy-winning and record-breaking Cowboy Carter in the country music genre.

Adcock, whose upcoming album is set for release next month, was filmed during a live performance last weekend, complaining that Beyoncé and her album are not “country music.”

Keep ReadingShow less