Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller joined 20 states and Washington, D.C. in asking the Supreme Court to review the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare).
The petition asks the court to take up the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision from last month in Texas v. U.S. It asks the court to resolve the case before the end of the current term in June.
According to a release sent out by Miller’s office, the decision held ObamaCare’s individual mandate was unconstitutional and called into question whether the remaining provisions of ObamaCare could still stand.
“For the last decade, the Affordable Care Act has become an integral part of our health care system,” Miller said. “The Fifth Circuit’s decision causes uncertainty that may harm the health of millions of Americans, as well as doctors, clinics, patients, and the healthcare market.”
A Texas-led coalition filed the lawsuit originally with support of the Trump administration. They also argued the rest of ObamaCare should be invalid as a result of Congress reducing the penalty for the individual mandate to $0.
The Fifth Circuit held that the individual mandate is unconstitutional, but did not rule further on the validity of the remaining provisions. Instead, the court sent the case back to the Northern District of Texas to determine which provisions of the 900-page law are still valid.
Miller is joined in the filing by attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia. The governor of Kentucky also is supportive.
The states’ petition to the Supreme Court can be found here.
