A group of conservative advisers influenced the federal government's decision not to defend major provisions of the ACA in a lawsuit challenging the health law's constitutionality, according to The Washington Post.
The news comes as the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans is considering a decision by Judge Reed O'Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. In December, Mr. O'Connor ruled in a lawsuit brought by Republican-led states that the entire ACA is invalid because Congress eliminated the law's individual insurance mandate penalty under the 2017 tax law signed by President Donald Trump.
The U.S. Justice Department in June 2018 said it wouldn't defend major provisions of the ACA and argued that the act's protections for people with preexisting conditions can't be separated from the mandate and should be invalidated. But the department since has fully sided with the Republican-led states and urged the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to strike down the entire ACA. The Trump administration earlier this year considered defending the health law, until an influential group of conservative advisers convinced the federal government not to do so, according to the Post.
The newspaper reported that former and current administration officials said some in the administration, including CMS Administrator Seema Verma, sought the federal government's support for the entire health law.
But White House advisers Russ Vought, deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget; Joe Grogan, head of the Domestic Policy Council; and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney ultimately influenced the administration's final decision, according to the former and current administration officials.
Read the full Post report here.
More articles on legal and regulatory issues:
Feds charge physicians, healthcare execs in $675M billing fraud bust
Dignity Health agrees to $570K settlement in discrimination case
Mass General ordered to release report on concurrent surgeries