Ok, I've had some time to digest last night's ACA ruling. First thing to know: ACA is still the law of the land, and even the Trump admin says so. Open Enrollment runs until midnight. 1/
What does "ACA still law" mean in practical terms? Same thing it always has: Medicaid expansion, protections for pre-ex, $ help with premiums and good coverage thru marketplaces, limits on insurance co profits (M👏🏼L👏🏼R👏🏼), 26y.o.s, and SO MUCH more. 130M+ Americans benefit. 2/
So what's next? Case will be appealed to 5th Circuit by CA+other states defending ACA. What happens there? Some legal scholars think this case is absurd and TX et al will lose, and then the Supreme Court won't take it up. But... there's no guarantee. 3/
I am not a lawyer! But I do remember King v Burwell, another "frivolous" case that was essentially over a drafting error, that went all the way to a 6-3 SCOTUS decision. I'm cautiously optimistic here, but our judiciary is so stacked with conservatives... you never know. 4/
(Quick tweet on what this case is: Rs used #GOPTaxScam to make penalty for not having health ins. $0, TX et al say $0 penalty is no longer a "tax," mandate being a "tax" was constitutional underpinning in case that upheld ACA in 2012, so without it, ACA now unconstitutional.) 5/
.@NancyPelosi also made clear Dems intend for the House to intervene as well. That of course doesn't guarantee an outcome, but a vote to authorize House intervention will make clear that Repub campaign talk of protecting pre-ex were nothing but empty election season promises. 6/
At least 3 short/med/long term things to do, recognizing it's hard for us to influence judiciary. 1. Short term: Ds use oversight authority to investigate Trump sabotage. How did cut to OE ad/navigator $ hurt consumers? Why pushing junk plans? Way more. huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-ve… 7/
(You can read more about how we expect Dems to use their oversight authority in our new Indivisible Guide -- and how you can help! -- here: indivisible.org/resource/indiv…) 8/
2. Med term: build on ACA success while moving toward single payer. House Ds have leg to expand $ help for premiums/deductibles/co-pays. They should pass it while working single payer: hearings, experts, settle debates, build consensus, intro leg. We can get them to do it. 9/
3. Long term: reverse radical conservative transformation of our judiciary. We can build power, take back Senate/White House, make sure judges are appointed that safeguard our rights and promote justice. Not advance partisan political goals. (I mean, yeah, I know it's big.) 10/
So bottom line, nothing changes today but this whole thing underscores the need to be in this fight and in this arena for the long haul. Read more here: indivisible.org/resource/whats… 11/11
