AG Kaul files lawsuit against Trump Administration’s efforts to restrict affordable healthcare

WISCONSIN (CIVIC MEDIA) – Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul is joining a coalition composed of several states in suing the Trump Administration for a ruling that would significantly restrict access to affordable healthcare.

The administration’s final rule aims to make numerous amendments to state and federal health insurance marketplaces. The amendments, which would be enacted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), are projected to cause nearly two million people to lose access to their health insurance, and gender-affirming care would no longer be recognized as an essential health benefit under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Attorney General Kaul’s coalition argues the HHS and CMS’s rule is arbitrary and it violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The attorney general issued a statement following the filing of his coalition’s lawsuit.

“This rule would make health insurance coverage less accessible,” said AG Kaul. “These changes that would undercut the Affordable Care Act should be enjoined.”

Following two consecutive record-breaking years that saw the highest enrollment ever in Wisconsin’s market, Attorney General Kaul predicts that trend will reverse, and uninsured rates will grow if the administration’s ruling is allowed to stand.

The lawsuit is the latest challenge Attorney General Kaul has lobbied toward the Trump Administration – he previously won a court order halting their efforts to block Wisconsinites’ access to key health and social services, and he was successful in restoring AmeriCorps programs.

Documentation of the coalition’s complaint can be found here.