Justice Department move on health law has risks for GOP

The Trump administration's decision to stop defending in court the Obama health law's popular protections for consumers with pre-existing conditions could prove risky for Republicans in the midterm elections and nudge premiums even higher.

The Justice Department said in a court filing late Thursday that it will no longer defend key parts of the Affordable Care Act, beginning with the unpopular requirement that people carry health insurance, but also including widely-supported provisions that guarantee access for people with medical problems and limit what insurers can charge older, sicker adults.

Yesterday, the insurance industry warned in stark terms of "harm that would come to millions of Americans" if such protections are struck down, causing premiums "to go even higher for older Americans and sicker patients."
"You can definitely assume Democrats will use it to whip up their side," said Wilensky, administrator of Medicare under former President George HW Bush. "For the people not affected by the ACA, or not particularly supportive, I don't know that it will matter much."