They're still trying to kill us

Attorneys representing 20 Republican state officials on Wednesday will walk into court and ask a federal district judge to invalidate the Affordable Care Act ― a move that could unleash chaos on insurance markets and, eventually, leave an estimated 17 million Americans without coverage.

It’s an outlandish request that relies on what even the law’s longtime critics are calling an outlandish argument. Jonathan Adler, the Case Western law professor who was an architect of the last big lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act’s constitutionality, says the case’s theory is “unmoored” and “absurd.” Lamar Alexander, the Tennessee Republican and chairman of the Senate’s health committee, has called it “far-fetched.”

But while the case seems unlikely to prevail, defenders of the law and advocates for the people who depend on it aren’t ready to dismiss the threat out of hand. And it’s easy to see why, given not just the stakes but also the circumstances of Wednesday’s hearing.

The plaintiffs filed their suit in U.S. District Court in Fort Worth, Texas, where they knew they would get a conservative jurist ― and where they drew Reed O’Connor, a George W. Bush nominee.

The last time an issue related to the Affordable Care Act landed in O’Connor’s courtroom was in 2016, when he blocked Obama administration regulations that would have prohibited health care providers from refusing to treat transgender patients for religious reasons. That ruling probably had more to do with his feelings about religious freedom and LGBTQ rights than the Affordable Care Act, but nobody walked away thinking he was a fan of the law, the people who wrote it or the ideas behind it.

Meanwhile, the Texas case has already taken one unexpected, but critical, turn. In June, the Trump administration’s lawyers at the Justice Department filed a brief supporting the lawsuit. Customarily, Justice Department lawyers defend federal statutes, even ones that the administration in power doesn’t like, in order to meet the president’s constitutional obligation that “the laws be faithfully executed.

The latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds recent political events weighing heavy on the minds of voters when it comes to the 2018 midterm elections. Three in ten voters (33 percent of independent voters, 32 percent of Democratic voters, and 25 percent of Republican voters) say corruption in Washington is the “most important” topic for 2018 candidates to discuss. This is the first time corruption in D.C. was included in KFF’s list of possible campaign topics and, along with health care (27 percent) and the economy and jobs (25 percent), it is among the top topics for voters three months before the 2018 midterm election.

Poll: 4 in 10 Americans are “very worried” that they or a family member will lose coverage if #SCOTUS overturns the ACA’s pre-existing conditions protections

KFF polling continues to find pre-existing conditions as a widespread concern and with the impending lawsuit Texas v. United States, a majority of the public say it is “very important” that the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) protections for people with pre-existing conditions ensuring guaranteed coverage (75 percent) and community rating (72 percent) remain law. About half (52 percent) of the public are “very worried” that they or someone in their family will have to pay more for health insurance and four in ten (41 percent) are “very worried” they will lose their coverage if the Supreme Court overturns these protections.