Ohio’s Republican attorney general is asking a federal court not to strike down the Affordable Care Act as unconstitutional. He’s filed a brief in a lawsuit over the ACA, or Obamacare, after the Trump administration asked for the entire law to be thrown out.
AG Dave Yost said he agrees with a December ruling from a district court judge in Texas that the individual mandate is unconstitutional, but he disagrees with the judge’s decision that the entire law must be thrown out.
Yost said other provisions are ok – such as mandated coverage for people with pre-existing medical conditions. Yost says Ohio isn’t supporting Democrats or Republicans in this case.
“We’re asking for a very narrow textual interpretation that says, even though the one piece is unconstitutional, people with pre-existing conditions are still protected," Yost said.
Yost said there are 1.9 million Ohioans with pre-existing conditions.
This week the U.S. Justice Department sent a letter to the court saying the entire law should be scrapped.
