House Democrats tee up vote to put Republicans on record on Obamacare lawsuit – Washington Examiner

House Democrats are preparing to force votes that would have the chamber’s legal counsel defend Obamacare against a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the healthcare law.

The House will vote Thursday, as part of a larger rules package, to allow the House counsel to intervene in the case, known as Texas v. Azar. The formal vote on the resolution will happen next week, according to the office of Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the likely incoming House Speaker.

The plan marks one of the first orders of business for Democrats in the House as they take over under the new Congress Thursday. Democrats hope to put the spotlight on Republicans who ran campaigns telling voters they were devoted to keeping in place Obamacare’s protections on pre-existing illnesses. They plan to argue that votes rejecting the resolution demonstrate Republicans aren’t really committed to the protections.

The Obamacare rules obligate insurers cover people with pre-existing conditions, such as cancer or diabetes, at the same price as they cover healthier people. The law also mandates a range of medical coverage and guarantees for which sicker patients cannot be refused coverage. The provision is one of Obamacare’s most popular among voters, even though it has contributed to higher premiums for certain enrollees.

“After two years of brutal attacks on health care and desperate GOP misrepresentations on the campaign trail, we’re not giving Republicans anywhere to hide,” Pelosi spokesman Henry Connelly said in an email. “Republicans who survived the election on their tardy promises to protect pre-existing conditions will have to explain why they have once again been complicit in trying to strike down those life-saving protections.”

A federal judge issued a ruling in December that not only would undo rules on pre-existing conditions, but the rest of Obamacare as well. The ruling is being stayed until it is appealed. While experts from both political persuasions have said they do not expect it will ultimately succeed, Democrats have signaled they intend to continue using the case as political ammunition.

Republican state officials started the lawsuit, which argues that all of Obamacare must be thrown out as a consequence of Congress zeroing out the fine on the uninsured in the tax law. The Trump administration sided with the GOP officials, but asked specifically for the rules on pre-existing illnesses to be thrown out. The federal judge, Reed O’Connor, sided with the GOP officials.

Democratic attorneys general have already said they plan to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans. The case also may make its way to the Supreme Court, which has become more conservative through President Trump’s appointments of Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.

Senate Democrats tried to vote in December to have the Senate legal counsel intervene on the case, but Republicans, who hold the majority in the upper chamber, blocked the vote.