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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial | |
ARTICLE VIEW: | |
Group of cities sues Trump administration over new changes to Obamacare | |
enrollment and eligibility | |
By Sarah Owermohle and Devan Cole, CNN | |
Updated: | |
5:47 PM EDT, Tue July 1, 2025 | |
Source: CNN | |
A group of Democratic-led cities sued the Trump administration Tuesday | |
over new changes to the Affordable Care Act that they say will | |
undermine the sweeping health care law and result in nearly 2 million | |
Americans losing health insurance. | |
The rule, finalized on June 25, shortens the open enrollment period for | |
Americans buying insurance on the marketplace and ends a monthly | |
special enrollment period for people with incomes below 150% of the | |
federal poverty line. It also introduces more preenrollment | |
requirements, such as income verification checks. | |
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimated last month | |
between 725,000 and 1.8 million people could lose coverage due to the | |
rule, but said the changes introduce new “” against improper | |
enrollment and overspending. | |
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Maryland, was brought by the | |
cities of Chicago, Baltimore and Columbus, Ohio, as well as an | |
association of doctors and a non-profit network of small businesses | |
that rely on the Affordable Care Act marketplace. | |
They allege that several parts of the new rule violate the ACA and | |
other federal laws, and say the administration ran afoul of federal | |
rulemaking procedures when it created the new policies, including by | |
failing to respond to public comments submitted as the rule was being | |
finalized. | |
“Rather than reducing the cost of insurance for consumers, or | |
increasing their enrollment rates and benefits, Defendants’ new | |
policies will cause at least 1.8 million Americans to lose coverage on | |
the ACA’s health insurance Exchanges in 2026 alone and will | |
ultimately result in higher premiums in the long term and higher | |
out-of-pocket costs for the remaining enrollees,” attorneys for the | |
plaintiffs wrote in the lawsuit. | |
The plaintiffs, represented by attorneys with Democracy Forward, are | |
asking the court to wipe away the parts of the new rule they’re | |
challenging. | |
A spokesperson for CMS’s parent agency, the Department of Health and | |
Human Services, defended the rule in a statement to CNN. | |
“The rule closes loopholes, strengthens oversight, and ensures | |
taxpayer subsidies go to those who are truly eligible—that’s not | |
controversial, it’s common sense,” the HHS spokesperson said. They | |
added that the rule would lower premiums and it “strengthens, not | |
weakens, access by making the system more stable, fair, and | |
sustainable.” | |
Advocates for the Trump administration’s rule changes say the ACA | |
marketplace is rife with fraud because of expanded subsidies, or tax | |
credits that keep Americans’ monthly premiums low. Millions of people | |
are enrolling in those low-cost plans even if their income makes them , | |
according to conservative think tank Paragon Health Institute. | |
Congress expanded those subsidies in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic, | |
but the temporary tax credits are set to expire at the end of 2025. The | |
beefed-up subsidies helped drive a to sign up for coverage for 2025. | |
The new rule is set to take effect in late August. The House version of | |
President Donald Trump’s agenda bill would codify the rule into law, | |
though the Senate legislation has different provisions, which would | |
also tighten eligibility for subsidies and increase verification | |
requirements. | |
This story has been updated with a statement from the Department of | |
Health and Human Services. | |
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