What is seen as the best chance yet to abolish Obamacare, a lawsuit filed against the 2010 Affordable Care Act by Texas and Wisconsin and joined by 19 other Republican-controlled states, is set for opening arguments this week in a Texas courtroom, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, in an interview with 1200 WOAI news, says the focus of his argument is that the only basis the U.S. Supreme Court, in a controversial decision in 2012, used to uphold the ACA, is the fact that the justices ruled that the penalty for failure to buy health insurance, what is called the 'Individual Mandate' is a tax, and as such falls within the power to tax granted by the Constitution to Congress.
Paxton says the 2017 tax reform act eliminated the penalty for not buying health insurance as of 2019, which means the sole pillar that led to the upholding of Obamacare has been removed.
"With the penalty going away, the taxing power going away, there is no basis to uphold Obamacare going forward," Paxton said.
Paxton says because of the 2012 decision being a precedent, he feels the plaintiffs have an 'excellent' chance of prevailing in the Supreme Court, which will ultimately decide the case.
But Paxton bristles at ads always being run by Democrats ahead of the November mid terms, saying Republicans 'want to take away your health care.
'Paxton says the plan, if the Supreme Court does in fact throw out the ACA, woudl be for the individual states to step in and approve their own individual health care systems. He says some states may expand Medicaid, others may work out different types of systems to maximize coverage.
"We would much rather see Texas address Texas issues and let Massachusetts to address theirs, and everybody can decide for themselves, and this creates opportunities for states to independently make up their own minds about what they want to do," Paxton said.
A recent study shows Obamacare, with his spiraling premiums and increasingly limited scope, is becoming more unpopular, even among the people who rely on it for health care. Many critics cite deductibles in the thousands of even tens of thousands of dollars, impossible co-payments and balance bills, and more health care facilities skirting Obamacare patients.
A new survey shows, for the first time ever, even middle class Americans who have private health insurance through their employer, and more concerned about the cost of health care than about its quality.
"Obviously, Obamacare is not working," Paxton said. "Its expensive, it has hurt the doctor-patient relationship, it has cost way too much, and it is costing us the ability to acquire good health care."