JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/OBAMACARE/PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration on Monday [3-25-19] said the entire Affordable Care Act should be struck down, in a dramatic reversal. In a filing with a federal appeals court, the Justice Department said it agreed with the ruling of a federal judge in Texas that invalidated the Obama-era health care law. In a letter Monday night, the administration said ‘it is not urging that any portion of the district court’s judgment be reversed’…It’s a major shift for the Justice Department from when Jeff Sessions was attorney general. At the time, the administration argued that the community rating rule and the guaranteed issue requirement — protections for people with pre-existing conditions — could not be defended but the rest of the law could stand. After the Justice Department took that position, federal District Judge Reed O’Connor struck down the entire law and the case is currently before a federal appeals court. Trump and the administration repeatedly promised — particularly leading up to the midterm election — to protect people with less-than-perfect medical histories. But this shift in the Justice Department’s stance doubles down on stripping away all the protections that were a hallmark of the landmark heath reform law.”
–Ariane de Vogue and Tami Luhby, “Trump administration now says entire Affordable Care Act should be struck down,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, March 25, 2019 8:03 am