Pelosi receives a health gift from Trump

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Ricci Shannon in the dentist's chair — Legend

Ricci Shannon, a cocktail waitress at the local casino, says she's uninsured, like many Virginians her age

In December of last year, a federal judge totally axed the Affordable Care Act, declaring it unconstitutional and pending appeal. Now the Trump government is attacking what would be a deadly blow to Obamacare, exciting some conservatives but also energizing the Democrats.

While the law will probably be respected in the end, this ruling suggests that hundreds of thousands of Americans could lose their health insurance – perhaps at the time of the 2020 presidential elections – partly to cause by the Trump administration.

This could be a huge gift for Democrats, who are looking to use the health care issue in 2020 to replace Donald Trump and retain their new majority in the House of Representatives.

Some members of the left have seen their hopes disappointed after the closure of Mueller's investigation in Russia this weekend without further charges, but key party strategists – in the presidential campaigns and Congress – have always considered critical economic issues, including access to affordable medical treatment, the key to their continued electoral success.

The decision of the Ministry of Justice to fully support the District Court's decision during the appeal proceedings marks a change from its earlier position, which advocated the partial cancellation of court cases. part of the historic law on health reform adopted by the Democrats and signed by President Barack Obama in 2010.

Legend

Staff says some patients travel more than six hours across the state to receive free treatment at WVHR

This development, however, should not be a huge surprise, as Donald Trump had celebrated the District Court's decision when it was handed down.

"As I had always predicted, Obamacare was struck by a UNCONSTITUTIONAL disaster!" he tweeted.

"Now Congress needs to pass a STRONG law that provides exceptional health care and protects pre-existing conditions."

Three months later, the president puts the legal muscle of his administration where his mouth is.

Mr. Trump was clear on the political strategy behind these legal attempts to dismantle Obamacare. He repeatedly called the law unconstitutional and said that if the courts killed him, this Democrat would be forced to negotiate with the Republicans for further reforms of the health system more at the whim of the Conservatives.

The big American election question that is not Trump
The safety net of American health care

It may not work that way.

Most legal experts consider the arguments in favor of an unconstitutional decision for the entire law to be slim. The reasoning of the district court judge was based on amendments to the 2017 tax reform law that set the penalty at zero for Americans who did not have health insurance.

The US Supreme Court had previously upheld the sanction, which aimed to avoid the free use of the US health care system, as a constitutional exercise of the federal government's taxing power. In December, the district court judge ruled that a fine of zero dollars was no longer a tax and thus violated the constitutionality of the law as a whole.

It will be months before the court of appeal considers that the case renders its opinion. Depending on the outcome, the Supreme Court could eventually intervene and make its final judgment, potentially extending the judicial proceedings in the years to come.

In the meantime, Democrats will try to portray the administration – and Mr. Trump – as supporting the abandonment of reforms that expand the list of Medicare and ensure that pre-existing illnesses are covered when Americans change their lives. insurer.

Health care was the main topic of last year's mid-term elections, which brought Democrats to power in the House of Representatives. This is already a subject of intense interest for voters in the Democratic primary, while presidential candidates suggest ways to extend health care coverage. Many advocate that the government supplant private insurers with a "universal" health system.

Although this case is not resolved anytime soon, the Trump administration's decision to advocate for the end of the current system offers 2020 candidates an opportunity to convince Republicans to oppose improvements made by Obamacare to the American health care system with no way of guaranteeing that everything that comes next will be better.

Later this week, Democrats in the House will present a new package of health system reforms designed to expand existing reforms in Obamacare.

This is part of their plan to divert the attention of the recent Mueller investigation in Russia and to establish a legislative record on which they will be able to maintain themselves in 2020. Reports have indicated that Mr Trump is in a position to protect himself. Also interested in legislation targeting high prices of prescription drugs. eyes on a reelection too.

"The Republican Party will soon be known as the health party," the US president said Tuesday at the US Capitol.

Why "socialist" health care slamming

Health care is already attracting strong interest among voters in the Democratic primary, while presidential candidates are putting forward their own proposals for extending health care coverage. Many advocate that the government supplant private insurers with a "universal" health system.

More on the 2020 election