The Trump administration pushed forward with its criticism of Obamacare earlier this week, urging the Supreme Court to nullify the health care law as millions of American people who lost their jobs during the pandemic are likely to rely on its coverage. In its legal brief, the Justice Department claims Obamacare became inoperative when earlier Republican-led Congress rejected the abhorred individual mandate penalty created for uninsured people.
Weeks before the filing was introduced, Donald Trump announced his administration will be leaving no stone unturned in a bid to eliminate Obamacare, despite top aides warning about voter backlash in the impending election. The Justice Department refused to give further analysis, stating that as soon as the individual mandate and the guaranteed-issue and the community-rating provisions are nullified, the rest of the ACA can't survive.
Trump's latest legal brief serves as new ammunition for Democrats as well as their presumptive presidential nominee Joe Biden, as the party waits with bated breath to take full advantage of it to retake the White House and the Senate in Nov. this year. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled her plans to vote on the Affordable Care Act, perfectly timing the bill to oppose Trump's legal attack on the law amid the coronavirus pandemic, POLITICO reported.
Backed by Trump, the lawsuit was brought by a group comprising Republican-led states. It puts health insurance for over 20 million people covered under Obamacare in jeopardy while putting insurance protections of people with prior medical conditions at risk.
During a recently concluded campaign event, Biden slammed Trump for trying to eliminate these protections, especially when a large number of coronavirus survivors are showing symptoms of long-term health complications. Biden said American people relying on Obamacare will be forced to lead life vise between the president's twin legacies that include his inability to protect Americans from the pandemic and his unceasing attempts to deprive them of the health care protections.
Trump, on the other hand, claims his predecessor's trademark legislative achievement must be reversed, ignoring the public health emergency. When COVID-19 began to tighten its grip on the people of America, Trump refused to enable uninsured people to avail of the coverage by refusing to reopen the law's health insurance marketplaces.
The president paid no heed to Democrats and moderate Republicans who urged him to make it easier for uninsured American people to get coverage. Last month, Trump said he wants to eliminate Obamacare and offer great health care.