Aug. 02--Baltimore
and other cities sued President Donald Trump's administration Thursday,
accusing federal officials of "sabotage" in attempting to dismantle
the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
"Having failed
to persuade Congress to repeal the Affordable Care Act, President Trump and his
Administration are waging a relentless campaign to sabotage and, ultimately, to
nullify the law," wrote the plaintiffs, which include Baltimore, Chicago
and two Ohio cities, Columbus and Cincinnati.
The lawsuit, filed
in federal court in Baltimore, alleges that the Trump administration's actions
to undo the Affordable Care Act through executive actions have increased the
burden on local jurisdictions and hospitals to care for those who have lost
insurance.
"Our fire
department answered 17,000 calls last year for people who were uninsured,"
said Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh. "That's going to be a problem for our
city. Somebody's got to pay. The cost is absolutely there."
Pugh predicted more
jurisdictions across the country would join the suit.
"This is
impacting communities and neighborhoods throughout the country," she said.
The cities allege
the Trump administration is "discouraging Americans from enrolling"
in health care plans; "working to raise prices and reduce choices"
for people seeking insurance in health care exchanges; and
"misappropriating funds Congress allocated to support the Act."
"President
Trump has repeatedly admitted as much: because Congress rejected his demand to
have 'Obamacare repealed,' he has said, he decided 'to go a different route'
and 'end Obamacare' through his own actions," the plaintiffs wrote.
"To that end, President Trump and his Administration are deliberately
trying to make the Act fail."
Baltimore's
congressional delegation joined city officials Monday in denouncing potential
federal cuts to reproductive health services.
The U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services has proposed creating a rule that would prevent
funding from the Title X Family Planning Program from going to...
The cities are
asking U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow to force the administration to
comply with their "constitutional obligation to take care to faithfully
execute the ACA, including by acting to expand, rather than suppress, the
number of individuals and families obtaining health insurance through ACA
exchanges;" "reduce, rather than increase, premiums for health
insurance in the ACA exchanges;" and "promote, rather than diminish,
the availability of comprehensive, reasonably-priced health insurance for
individuals and families with preexisting conditions."
The Trump
administration has not yet filed a response. Republicans and other critics have
argued the law is too costly for businesses and that its requirements intrude
into private decisions that should be made by individuals.
Adam Grogg, senior
counsel for the Democracy Forward Foundation, said the suit documents how the
president has been trying to undermine the Affordable Care Act since taking
office.
He called the
leaders of the cities involved a "tremendous, courageous group of
plaintiffs."
The Affordable Care
Act increased the number of Americans with health coverage by about 20 million.
Grogg said the
administration's actions were reversing that progress.
"There are
signs the number of uninsured and underinsured are beginning to rise," he
said. "We're seeing those gains recede."
(c)2018 The Baltimore Sun
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