Supreme Court appears to reject conservative argument over Obamacare

WASHINGTON – Politico reports that a majority of the Supreme Court appeared inclined Monday to reject a conservative challenge from Texas to Obamacare, leaving in place the federal government’s authority to require insurers to cover everything from depression screenings to HIV prevention drugs at no cost to patients. And, in an odd twist, it was the Trump administration defending the health law that the president has spent more than a decade excoriating. Over an hour and a half of in-the-weeds arguments, the justices seemed to favor the administration’s position — that Obamacare’s coverage mandates are constitutional because the task force that recommends them is made up of members who can be ignored or fired at will by the health secretary.

But a favorable ruling will not necessarily be an unqualified win for Obamacare advocates, since it would still leave the current administration with significant sway over those requirements going forward. The high court’s decision, expected by June, could also jeopardize or even erase many of the preventive care requirements set since Obamacare’s inception — allowing insurance companies to charge co-pays for tens of millions of people. The Trump administration’s surprising defense of the Affordable Care Act, which President Donald Trump has long fought to repeal, seemed driven at least in part by a desire to maximize the authority of Trump’s Cabinet and avoid having a range of employees and advisers be subject to Senate confirmation. Deputy Solicitor General Hashim Mooppan said at least twice during Monday’s arguments that requiring the Senate’s involvement in such appointments would be unconstitutional. Notably, Jonathan Mitchell, who won a unanimous Supreme Court ruling last year that effectively ensured Trump remained on the 2024 ballot nationwide, represented the conservative Texas employers challenging the coverage requirements.