The Biden administration has written a letter to the Supreme Court asking them to uphold the Affordable Care Act, overturning the Trump Administration’s decision to eliminate the law.
“Following the change in Administration, the Department of Justice has reconsidered the government’s position,” Edwin Kneedler, Deputy Solicitor General, wrote in a letter. The United States “no longer adheres to the conclusions in the previously filed brief of the federal respondents.”
The lawsuit brought on by the Republicans against the Affordable Care Act, California v. Texas, No.19-840, said that the law’s mandate was unconstitutional. In 2017, Congress eliminated a law that penalized people for failing to obtain insurance coverage because it could no longer be considered a tax. Kneedler wrote in the letter that the mandate was constitutional without a tax penalty.
“Rather than imposing a new burden on covered individuals,” Kneedler wrote. “The 2017 amendment preserved the choice between lawful options and simply eliminated any financial or negative legal consequence from choosing not to enroll in health coverage.”
The Biden administration is not looking to have another hearing.
“Because oral argument was held and these cases were submitted three months ago, and because other parties have fully briefed both sides of the questions presented,” Kneedler wrote. “The United States is not requesting supplemental briefing.”
Republicans have worked tirelessly to destroy the law, and Donald Trump criticized it often when he was in office. The two challenges made against the law in 2012 and 2015 failed in the Supreme Court. According to the Urban Institute, getting rid of the Affordable Care Act would increase the rate of uninsured people by 70 percent, almost 21 million people, greatly affecting low-income adults.
Passing the Affordable Care Act was a defining moment in President Barack Obama’s legacy.
By June, there will be a ruling in the case.
