Annapolis, MD—Despite Republican Larry Hogan’s efforts to undermine him, Attorney General Brian Frosh is still the last line of defense against Donald Trump and the Republican Party’s efforts to overturn the Affordable Care Act. Today, Frosh filed a lawsuit to defend the ACA in court.
Frosh is able to carry out his duty to protect Marylanders from Donald Trump thanks to legislation passed by Democrats in the legislature. Prior to action from Democrats, Frosh needed permission to sue on behalf of Marylanders from Larry Hogan, who repeatedly refused to sign off on suits against Donald Trump. This year, Hogan refused to fund the team within the Office of the Attorney General that is fighting to hold the Trump administration accountable and fight for Marylanders in court.
Today’s lawsuit is in response to another lawsuit filed by the State of Texas in February, which seeks to overrule the ACA. Texas’ lawsuit, which argues that the ACA became unconstitutional when Republicans in Congress eliminated the individual mandate, is an existential threat to the ACA—which was upheld by the Supreme Court on the grounds that it is a tax.
“Despite Larry Hogan best efforts to undermine him, Brian Frosh continues to fiercely defend Maryland taxpayers from Donald Trump’s dangerous policies,” said Maryland Democratic Party chair Kathleen Matthews. “Since Day One of the Trump administration, Republicans have been orchestrating the destruction of the ACA, and Attorney General Frosh is now the last line of defense for Maryland families. If he truly cares about affordable healthcare for Marylanders, why is Governor Hogan not standing with Attorney General Frosh by publicly stating his support of this lawsuit and giving him the resources necessary to save Marylanders’ healthcare.”
Donald Trump and Washington Republican’s crusade against the ACA is already hurting Marylanders.
- Since Hogan entered office, the average benchmark marketplace premium has exploded from $220 to $486 per month for a single person—an increase of more than 120 percent, with the majority of increases occurring under the Trump administration.
- Hogan’s Insurance chief and Republican candidate for Baltimore County Executive Al Redmer presided over a hearing of the Maryland Insurance Administration in July, where health insurance companies proposed exorbitant rate hikes—some as high as 90 percent—citing Trump’s sabotage as the cause for the hikes. In May, Kaiser Permanente proposed a 37.4 percent premium increase, due to “the impact of eliminating the individual mandate penalty.”
- Two months ago, following after the Trump administration announced it was ending risk adjustment payments, University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business senior associate dean of research said, “so much uncertainty put in the market at this point of time is very unnerving.”