California is leading a multistate coalition defending the Affordable Care Act (ACA) against a district court ruling undermining the healthcare of millions of Americans.
On Thursday, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra together with 17 state attorneys general filed a notice of appeal to challenge the district court’s ruling at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana.
Last month, Judge Reed O’Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas sided with 20 Republican states, which filed a lawsuit to end ACA. He ruled that the healthcare law is unconstitutional since the Congress repealed the individual mandate, a penalty or tax on those who do not have health insurance.
In 2012 and 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that ACA is constitutional because Congress “does have the power to impose a tax on those without health insurance.”
ACA is the “backbone” of the U.S. healthcare system
In a statement on Thursday, Becerra said, “Our goal is simple: to stand up for the law of the land – the Affordable Care Act – in order to keep healthcare affordable and accessible for millions of Americans.”
