Trump administration asks Supreme Court to overturn Obamacare

Tia Dufour/White House

The Trump administration officialy asked the Supreme Court to strike down the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) on Thursday, per AP.

Texas and other conservative-led states argue that the ACA is unconstitutional after Congress passed tax legislation in 2017 which eliminated fines for failing to have health insurance, but left its requirement that all Americans to  be covered.

Around 20 million Americans could lose their healthcare protections and coverage for those will pre-existing conditions if the Supreme Court rules to overturn the Affordable Care Act. AP reports that nearly 500,000 people who lost their healthcare due to the pandemic signed up through HealthCare.gov. The Trump adminstration did not mention coronavirus in their brief.

The thought of overturning the ACA was campaigned on by Trump, but fell short on Capitol Hill in 2017. The White House has not offered a replacement plan.

The court is likely to hear arguments in the fall.