A federal judge in Boston has denied a motion filed by a group of state attorneys general seeking to block the Trump administration from making changes to the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplace under a newly established rule.
In a lawsuit filed by 20 state attorneys general, along with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton in Boston on Wednesday rejected the motion, which sought a preliminary injunction against certain provisions of the Marketplace Affordability and Integrity Rule.
The group sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in July, arguing that the rule would deprive up to 1.8M Americans of health insurance obtained through ACA marketplaces.
According to Reuters, Judge Gorton dismissed their argument, noting that their 1.8M projection indicated the high end of the estimates and the lawsuit didn’t represent the states where many of the affected individuals live.
In the wake of his decision, the rule, which was finalized in June before most of its provisions went into effect in August, will remain in the books as the case proceeds.
Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV), UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH), CVS Health’s Aetna (NYSE:CVS), Centene (CNC), and Oscar Health (NYSE:OSCR) are among the largest insurers in the ACA marketplaces.