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Obamacare: not quite dead as open enrollment closes

Democrats almost immediately promised to appeal the decision, possibly setting the case up for a date with the Supreme Court.
Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
A computer screen shows the enrollment page for the Affordable Care Act on November 1, 2017 in Miami, Florida. The open enrollment period to sign up for a health plan under the Affordable Care Act started today and runs until Dec. 15.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The headlines late Friday evening made things look grim for the Affordable Care Act after U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor ruled that the ACA’s individual mandate was unconstitutional. But as the hours passed, it became clear that the law commonly known as Obamacare wasn’t quite dead.

Not yet, at least.

"The court today finds the individual mandate is no longer fairly readable as an exercise of Congress's tax power and continues to be unsustainable under Congress's interstate commerce power," O’Connor said in the ruling. "The court therefore finds the individual mandate, unmoored from a tax, is unconstitutional."

Related: Federal judge rules Affordable Care Act unconstitutional, but coverage intact for now

But Democrats almost immediately promised to appeal the decision, possibly setting the case up for a date with the Supreme Court. Anticipating the appeal, the White House issued a statement saying, "the law remains in place" and health coverage will continue uninterrupted during the appeal process.

“Obviously there's no change immediately in Obamacare,” said President Trump’s Senior Advisor Stephen Miller Sunday morning on Face The Nation. “There hasn't been a nationwide injunction. Obamacare was ruled to be unconstitutional. We've always known that Obamacare was unconstitutional. The more important question is whether Democrats are going to work with Republicans once Obamacare is ultimately struck down, which we believe it will be, to come up with a replacement plan that protects preexisting conditions. Helps the 28 million Americans who because of Obamacare still don't have access to health insurance and keeps prices low through robust competition.”

“This decision is devastating,” Senator Chuck Schumer said on Saturday. “The good news is that the judge seemed way off the deep end, and I am going to ask senators Democrats and Republicans to intervene in the case when it is appealed and say that the judge is completely off base and the judge used what is called the 'legislative intent' what the legislature was thinking so we will have a real say in this case and I hope a hundred senators - Democrats and Republicans join in our intervention."

Meanwhile, Saturday night, open enrollment for 2019 health coverage closed. Although certain types of extensions beyond the December 15th deadline can still be applied for on the Affordable Care Act website.

Read More: 'Republicans will never stop': Obama slams GOP after ruling against Affordable Care Act

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