Here's What the Texas Ruling on the Affordable Care Act Means

Recently a federal judge in Texas struck down Obamacare in its entirety — but what does that actually mean?

The lawsuit to repeal Obamacare was brought by 18 Republican state attorneys general, with the support of Trump and the Republican Congress.

How we got to this point is that the Republican tax law of 2017 repealed the individual mandate penalty from Obamacare — the part that says you have to get insurance or pay a penalty. Judge Reed O’Connor, the federal judge in Texas, a George W. Bush appointee, has ruled that without the individual mandate, the whole law falls apart and everything else has got to go.

If this decision stands, it means roughly 20 million people will lose health coverage and roughly 130 million Americans who have pre-existing conditions. It also means that women can be charged more than men.

If you signed up for health care, you are still covered for all of 2019 no matter what. And Democratic state attorneys general are appealing the ruling, so it will likely go to the Supreme Court.

In 2018, polls show that protecting health care was the number one issue motivating voters, and Republicans seem to be flying in the face of that with their repeated efforts to strip health care away from millions of people. In order to protect it, call your senators and representatives and hold them accountable.

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