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The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the latest Republican challenge to the Accordable Care Act, which preserves Barack Obama’s major health care reforms in a major victory for Democrats.
In an opinion released Thursday 7-2, the nine-member court denied attempting to invalidate the abundant Affordable Care Act, which has provided health coverage to tens of millions of uninsured Americans previously.
Stephen Breyer wrote the majority opinion, along with two other Liberals, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, in addition to four Conservatives: Chief Justice John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Samuel Alito disagreed, along with his conservative Neil Gorsuch.
Thursday’s decision marked the third time the nation’s highest court has rejected challenges to the ACA, following the 2012 and 2015 rulings. The latest case was filed by a group of 18 leading states. for Texas and two people. By Donald Trump White house had filed a writ amicus in support of the plaintiffs.
The plaintiffs had signed up to the controversial “individual warrant” that originally required all Americans to have health insurance or pay a financial fine.
In his 2012 decision confirming the ACA, the Supreme Court held that the penalty for not having insurance could be characterized as a tax, making it a constitutional use of the powers of Congress.
However, Congress later reduced the sentence to zero. The Texas-led plaintiffs sued, arguing that the warrant was no longer constitutional and that the entire law should be repealed.
But most found that the plaintiffs had not suffered any harm that would give them grounds to sue.
“To be entitled, a plaintiff must” allege personal damage quite traceable to the defendant’s alleged illegal conduct and likely to be remedied by the relief sought, “Breyer wrote.” No plaintiff has shown a “fairly traceable” injury to the “alleged illegal conduct” challenged here.
The decision in California against Texas is one of the first high-profile rulings since Barrett joined the bench last October, tipping the country’s highest court record, 6-3, in favor of Republican-appointed jurists .
Some progressives have called in recent weeks for Breyer, who is 82 years old and is the oldest judge, to retire so that Democratic President Joe Biden can appoint a Liberal replacement while his party controls Congress. Supreme Court judges are appointed by presidents for lifetime appointments, but must be confirmed by a simple majority in the Senate.
Thursday’s ruling, however, stressed that judges do not always rule ideologically. Only two Republican-appointed jurists, Alito and Gorsuch, opposed the decision.
“Today’s decision is the third installment of our epic Affordable Care Act trilogy and follows the same pattern as pounds one and two,” Alito wrote in his dissent. “In all three episodes, with the Economic Assistance Act facing a serious threat, the court has withdrawn an unlikely bailout.”
The ACA, often referred to as “Obamacare,” was signed into law in 2010. The legislation divided public opinion, but it has become increasingly popular among American voters in recent years. He has resisted several legal challenges since its passage, as well as Republican-led efforts to repeal the law in Congress.
“After more than a decade of attacks on the Accordable Care Act through Congress and the courts, today’s decision is the third major challenge to the law than the US. The Supreme Court has rejected it: it is time to move forward and continue to build on this benchmark law, ”Biden said in a statement after the decision.
Nancy Pelosi, a Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, called Thursday’s ruling “an important victory for Democrats ‘work to defend the protections of people with pre-existing conditions against Republicans’ relentless efforts to dismantle them.”
His comments were echoed by Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, who pledged to build on existing legislation. Democrats have called for an expansion of Medicaid, public health insurance for low-income Americans, among other health care reforms.
“Let me say for sure: the Accessible Assistance Act has won, the Supreme Court has ruled, the ACA is here to stay,” Schumer said.
Ron Klain, the White House chief of staff, wrote on Twitter: “He’s still a BFD,” an apparent reference to a time in 2010, when Vice President Biden was heard whispering to Obama at the time of the signing of the ‘ACA in law:’ This sucks. ‘
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