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  • Washington Highlights

    Hospital Groups File Amicus Brief in Support of ACA

    Ivy Baer, Senior Director and Regulatory Counsel

    The AAMC June 14 joined with the American Hospital Association, the Catholic Health Association, and the Federation of American Hospitals to file an amicus brief in the case of Texas v. the United States, urging a federal district court in Texas to deny a request for a preliminary injunction enjoining the government from enforcing the Affordable Care Act (ACA, P.L. 111-148 and P.L. 111-152) and its associated regulations.

    A number of provisions of the ACA would be considered null and void if the plaintiffs in the suit are successful, including:

    • Protections for patients with pre-existing conditions;

    • Coverage for children on their parents’ health insurance plans until age 26;

    • The 85% medical loss ratio requirement for insurers;

    • 100% coverage for certain preventative services; and

    • The possible reinstating of annual and lifetime dollar limits.

    In the brief, the groups warn of the consequences of a decision in favor of the plaintiffs. “The ACA’s repeal may serve Plaintiffs’ idiosyncratic health-policy preferences. But for the rest of the country, which has received from the Act expanded health-insurance coverage, a stable individual-insurance market, and an expanded Medicaid safety net, a judgment for Plaintiffs would be disastrous. If Plaintiffs prevail, more Americans will go without basic medical care and more Americans will wait to seek care until they are more seriously ill and more difficult to successfully treat.”

    Other health care associations, including the American Medical Association, America’s Health Insurance Plans, and the American Cancer Society, and other patient groups also submitted briefs in support of the ACA.