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 The complaint in federal court in Baltimore, filed by the cities of
Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, alleged that the
Republican president is "waging a relentless campaign to sabotage
and, ultimately, to nullify the law."
The lawsuit argued that because Congress has not repealed the
Affordable Care Act, as Obamacare is legally known, the U.S.
Constitution requires Trump to take care that it, like other laws,
is "faithfully executed."
The cities in Ohio, Maryland and Illinois contended that the
administration's actions are forcing them to spend more on
uncompensated care for their residents by driving up the rate of
uninsured individuals.
The complaint said Trump has defied his obligation to uphold the law
by taking executive actions aimed at undercutting it after he failed
to get Congress to repeal the law, as he promised to do in his
campaign.
"By actively and avowedly wielding executive authority to sabotage
the ACA, defendants are not acting in good faith; instead, they have
usurped Congress’s lawmaking function, and they are violating the
Constitution," the complaint said.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately
respond to a request for comment.
The Affordable Care Act was enacted in 2010 under Democratic
President Barack Obama. The law extended health insurance to some 20
million Americans.
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The lawsuit cited several actions Trump's administration has taken
to undercut Obamacare. For instance, it pointed to cuts to funding
for groups that help people get insurance through the law.
It also noted that the administration last year said it would halt
so-called cost-sharing payments, which offset some out-of-pocket
healthcare costs for low-income patients.
In support of its claims that Trump has sabotaged the law, the
complaint cites statements by the president like "we are getting rid
of Obamacare" and "essentially, we have gotten rid of it."
The cities also cited a recent rule adopted by the U.S. Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services in April that the lawsuit said would
increase the cost of health coverage and impose new barriers to
enrollment.
The lawsuit said that rule lacked adequate justification and
violated the text of the Affordable Care Act itself.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by David Gregorio)
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