The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas recently ruled that the Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise known as Obamacare, is unconstitutional in a lawsuit brought by several states, including Louisiana, challenging the ACA.
However, U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Fort Worth stayed his ruling pending appeals, a posting on neworleanscitybusiness.com said.
The claim made by the states opposing the ACA was that the government requirement for people to have health insurance is unconstitutional in nature as the mandate was coupled with a tax penalty for those who did not have insurance coverage.
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, who joined the challenge in February, has been in favor of characterizing the ACA as unconstitutional.
"Since day one, this case has always been about the Constitution and federal overreach. Patients should come first in health care – not a bureaucracy in Washington, D.C.," Landry told the Louisiana Record.
O'Connor has allowed a stay on his ruling in order to give time for appeals, mainly because he feared that many Americans would face great uncertainty if the ruling were put into effect right away, the neworleanscitybusiness.com posting said.
"Should this ruling hold, I look forward to continue working with the Louisiana Legislature in supporting efforts to ensure those with pre-existing conditions can obtain coverage," Landry said. "I remain committed to working with our state leaders to find constitutionally sound, state-based solutions to this issue."
White House Press Secretary, Sarah Sanders said in a statement that the ruling will likely be appealed to the Supreme Court and that it is possible that the law will not be repealed.
According to New Orleans City Business, a group of Democratic state attorneys general are planning to appeal the ruling, as well as congressional Democrats. Obamacare will stay in effect as the appeals process begins, with changes being made if the ruling is upheld.