Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear is joining 15 other attorneys general in seeking to intervene in a lawsuit aimed at declaring the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional.
The original lawsuit filed in Texas says that because President Trump last year signed legislation that did away with the individual mandate penalty, the law is unconstitutional. If the the motion to intervene by the attorneys general is accepted, they would become part of court proceedings and be able to provide evidence that the law is constitutional.
“Kentucky stands to lose a projected $49.7 billion in federal funding for our expanded Medicaid and subsidies for those on the individual market if this lawsuit moves forward,” Beshear said in a news release. “Hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians are at risk of losing their health care coverage, many of whom have coverage for the first time.”
Beshear said in the release that the ACA required both private insurance plans and Medicaid to cover drug treatment, which has been instrumental in Kentucky as the state fights an opioid epidemic.
Other state attorneys general joining the motion to intervene include California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia.
