Court Stops Obamacare Case In Its Tracks Until Trump Takes Office

The U.S. House of Representatives challenged an Obamacare provision that the government pay insurance companies to compensate for the reduction of customers’ out-of-pocket medical payments.

According to lawmakers, the provision wasn’t funded, and it wasn’t within the executive branch’s power to spend money in any case.

A federal judge ruled in favor of the House, and the Obama administration appealed.

But President-elect Donald Trump said he wants Obamacare repealed, and the issue could be moot after the new Congress takes action against the “affordable” health care law. Lawmakers asked the court to put the case on hold, and the court granted the request on Monday.

From the Washington Times:

It’s one of a series of cases that are being delayed to give the new administration a chance to put its stamp on legal strategy. Obama administration lawyers had agreed to the delays in immigration cases, but had fought against a halt in the Obamacare lawsuit.
…
“The D.C. Circuit wisely put this case on hold, recognizing that they may never to resolve this thorny constitutional question. Waiting one month will let the case go away after the change in administrations,” said Josh Blackman, an associate professor at the South Texas College of Law.

Congress passed a measure to repeal Obamacare last January. As expected, the outgoing president vetoed the bill.

“This is the closest we have come to repealing ObamaCare,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said at the time. “It clears the path to repealing this law with a Republican president in 2017 and replacing it with a truly patient-centered health care system. We will not back down from this fight to defend the sanctity of life and make quality health care coverage achievable for all Americans.”

Those were merely wishful words then, but now the country will have a Republican president who campaigned on scrapping President Obama’s signature law and much of his legacy.