Seems Like This Court Really Might Throw Out Obamacare

A federal appeals court in New Orleans may be poised to overturn the entirety of the Affordable Care Act, according to CNN. The ruling is part of a suit brought by Republican states challenging the constitutionality of the law without the individual mandate to buy insurance.

Ever since December, when US District Court Judge Reed O’Connor made the surprising decision to strike down the entire law, the future of Obamacare has been uncertain. In March, the Trump administration reversed their previous position, and came out in support of overturning the law.

The appeals court indicated today that they may uphold that controversial ruling, which could throw 20 million people off their health insurance.

At today’s hearing, two Republican-appointed judges suggested in their questioning that they might side with O’Connor. There are three judges on the panel, so if those two judges do go that way, it’s game over for Obamacare.

The judges ultimately didn’t issue a ruling today, meaning their decision is still up in the air, and we have no answer yet on the ACA’s future. If the panel does support O’Connor’s ruling, the case will almost certainly go to the Supreme Court.

The appeal was brought by a group of Democratic states, which say they will continue to fight to uphold the ACA.

“We will fight the administration tooth and nail and stand ready for whatever comes next,” Sarah Lovenheim, a spokesperson for California’s attorney general told CNN outside the hearing.

“Today we saw an administration pressed to explain why affordable health care and American lives should be put at risk,” Lovenheim added. “If they have their way millions of Americans could be forced to delay, skip or forgo potentially lifesaving health care all together.”