Trump’s Attacks on Health Care Are Coming to Fruition

WASHINGTON, D.C., December 19, 2019 – Following a decisionfrom the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit laying the groundwork for the Affordable Care Act to be dismantled, Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron released the following statement: 

“President Trump made clear that he would nominate judges committed to eliminating the Affordable Care Act, packing our courts to do Republicans’ dirty work and strip away millions of people’s health care coverage. The Fifth Circuit’s decision suggests he may get his wish. Republicans have spent a decade trying but failing to take away millions of people’s health care in Congress, so they turned to the courts instead. 

“Judge Carolyn Dineen King was correct in her dissent that this was an ‘academic curiosity.’ The case has no merits and should have been dismissed. The two Republican-appointed judges on the panel, including Trump appointee Kurt Engelhardt, nevertheless seized the opportunity to attack this lifesaving law. They have kept alive a frivolous lawsuit that leaves the health care for millions — including people with preexisting conditions — at risk. It’s a stark reminder that it matters who sits on the federal bench — and why everyone should be alarmed at how dramatically the Trump administration has reshaped our courts.”