Wisconsin, Texas seek to take down Obamacare

Posted at 3:30 p.m. on February 27, 2018

The Brillion News

MADISON – With Congress treading water on replacing Obamacare, several states are hoping to force the issue with a lawsuit led by Wisconsin and Texas.

Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel, along with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, is leading the 20-state coalition urging a federal district court in Texas to hold the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) individual mandate as unconstitutional and to enjoin the entire law.

“Obamacare’s irrational design wreaks havoc on health insurance markets,” Schimel said. “Obamacare causes premiums to rise and coverage to fall, forcing Wisconsin and other states to take extreme, costly measures to protect their citizens’ health and pocketbooks. I bring this challenge to Obamacare because, as Wisconsin’s attorney general, I swore to uphold the rule of law and protect our state from overreaching and harmful actions from the federal government.”

The complaint, filed Monday, explains that the ACA, as recently amended, forces an unconstitutional and irrational regime onto the states and their citizens.

In the case NFIB v. Sebelius, the U.S. Supreme Court narrowly upheld the core provision of the ACA – the individual mandate- by declaring it to be a “tax.” However, Congress has recently repealed this tax, while leaving the mandate in place.

Since the Supreme Court has already held that Congress has no authority to impose such a mandate on Americans, absent invoking its taxing authority, Schimel believes the ACA is now clearly unconstitutional.

Wisconsin and Texas filed the coalition’s complaint in a federal district court in Texas. Other states participating are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia.