Michigan democrats plan on fighting a federal judge's ruling that was made Friday on the Affordable Care Act.
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Fort Worth sided with the argument put forward by a coalition of Republican-leaning states, led by Texas, that the Affordable Care Act could no longer stand now that there's no penalty for Americans who don't buy insurance.
This comes the day before the Saturday deadline to enroll in the ACA. The ruling will not affect the deadline or the ability to enroll and does not include an injunction, so the ACA will continue while the legalities of the ruling are decided on.
U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) released the following statement on the ruling:
“This outrageous ruling threatens health coverage for millions of Americans. If you have a pre-existing condition, you could be denied insurance or have to pay more for your coverage. Without the federal tax credits, insurance would become unaffordable for many Americans and being a woman could once again be considered a pre-existing condition. Mental health services and affordable medicine would be put at risk. And Healthy Michigan that covers one million Michiganders would be gone! This ruling must be overturned.”
Others high ranking Michigan democrats have responded to the judge's ruling.
This ruling could be disastrous for the tens of millions American families, who were able to obtain health care coverage for the first time and potentially life threatening for those with preexisting conditions. President Trump & Republicans should be ashamed of this law suit https://t.co/ucsoQq46Y9
— Senator Gary Peters (@SenGaryPeters) December 15, 2018
I ran for Congress to protect those with preexisting conditions and promote access to quality, affordable health care. I will work with all of my colleagues to stop efforts to undermine the progress we’ve made through the Affordable Care Act.
— Haley Stevens (@HaleyLive) December 15, 2018