(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
BREAKING: Federal Court Allows Case Against Trump Administration’s Sabotage of the Affordable Care Act to Move Forward
A federal court rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to dismiss our lawsuit challenging its unlawful sabotage of the Affordable Care Act. The Court explained that the Plaintiffs “sufficiently allege[d] that Defendants’ actions … caused their asserted harms.”
MoreSince his inauguration, President Trump and his Administration have intentionally and unconstitutionally sabotaged the Affordable Care Act. President Trump’s actions have increased the cost of health coverage; they have discouraged enrollment; and they have sowed uncertainty in health insurance markets, eliminating choices for quality health insurance. The President’s goal is clear: to dismantle the ACA by executive action alone. President Trump’s unprecedented attempts to sabotage the duly enacted ACA defy his most fundamental duties under the Constitution. We sued on behalf of cities and consumers to stop it.
President Trump’s actions harm American families nationwide by making it harder and more expensive to obtain quality health care. President Trump’s continued and systematic attacks on the ACA cause both the cost of health coverage and the number of underinsured Americans to increase. The Administration’s actions have also harmed cities nationwide by forcing them to pick up the tab for providing healthcare to uninsured or underinsured individuals.
We filed suit to stop President Trump’s sabotage of the ACA on behalf of five cities—Columbus, Ohio, Baltimore, Maryland, Cincinnati, Ohio, Chicago, Illinois, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania—and citizens from Charlottesville, Virginia. The lawsuit argues that President Trump’s actions violate the Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution’s Take Care Clause. We’re asking the Court to declare that the President and his Administration have broken the law and order them to take specific steps to faithfully enforce the ACA, including by restoring funding for advertising and for Navigator groups, restoring open enrollment periods to their prior length, and promoting the availability of comprehensive, reasonably-priced health insurance for individuals and families with pre-existing conditions.
In the news
Trump’s undermining of Obamacare violates the Constitution, new lawsuit charges
NBC News / August 2, 2018
Trump’s Sabotage of Obamacare Is Illegal
New York Times / August 14, 2018
Emails Show Trump Administration Was Told Obamacare Ad Cuts Could Hurt Enrollment
Huffington Post / December 14, 2018
August 2, 2018
We filed suit, alleging that President Trump’s attempts to sabotage the ACA are unlawful.
December 24, 2018
The Trump Administration filed its motion to dismiss our lawsuit.
One of the Administration’s primary responses is to promise that things are getting better, but it ignores the ways in which its own actions have made things worse by driving up the costs of quality health coverage.
Learn MoreJanuary 25, 2019
We amended our lawsuit.
Philadelphia, the sixth largest city in the country, joined our coalition. We also amended our complaint to detail President Trump’s most recent deliberate and systematic attacks on the health law, which have driven premiums up and pushed Americans off of quality insurance plans.
Learn MoreMarch 8, 2019
The government filed its amended motion to dismiss our case.
May 31, 2019
We responded to the government’s latest attempt to dismiss our case.
This filing detailed the deliberate and unlawful attacks by the administration on the health law; since our coalition filed suit last year, the Trump administration’s sabotage has made quality health insurance more expensive and less accessible.
Learn MoreJune 7, 2019
Coalitions file amicus briefs
The U.S. House of Representatives, 20 states, 13 cities and counties, four advocacy groups, health insurance marketing expert Joshua Peck (Get America Covered), and health economist Henry Aaron (Brookings) filed six “friend of the court” briefs in support of our lawsuit.
August 21, 2019
The government replied to our response.
April 10, 2020
Federal court rejected the government’s attempt to dismiss our lawsuit.
The court held that the Plaintiffs’ claims that the Trump Administration's policies have increased premiums and the number of uninsured Americans were sufficient to defeat the government’s motion to dismiss and allow the case to move forward.
Learn MoreRelated Documents
- Complaint As Filed (8/2/2018) (pdf / 612 KB)
- Amended Complaint (1/25/19) (pdf / 778 KB)
- Motion to Dismiss Amended Complaint (3/8/19) (pdf / 593 KB)
- Opposition to Motion to Dismiss (5/31/19) (pdf / 2 MB)
- U.S. House of Representatives Amicus Brief (6/7/19) (pdf / 602 KB)
- States Amicus Brief (6/7/19) (pdf / 7 MB)
- Cities and Counties Amicus Brief (6/7/19) (pdf / 394 KB)
- Advocacy Groups Amicus Brief (6/7/19) (pdf / 125 KB)
- Henry Aaron Amicus Brief (6/7/19) (pdf / 310 KB)
- Josh Peck Amicus Brief (6/7/19) (pdf / 1 MB)
- Government's Reply (8/21/19) (pdf / 372 KB)
- Memorandum Opinion (04/10/20) (pdf / 181 KB)
- Motion for Summary Judgement (08/13/20) (pdf / 688 KB)
- Government Cross-motion and Opposition (09/28/20) (pdf / 562 KB)
John Lewis
Senior CounselLitigating challenges to unlawful executive branch activity regarding immigration, civil rights, health care, education, veterans’ affairs, and more.
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