Supreme Court declines to fast track ObamaCare case, won't rule until after 2020 election

The Supreme Court won't consider a challenge to ObamaCare until after the 2020 election — if it considers it at all.

Even though a coalition of Democratic states asked the Supreme Court to quickly decide whether it would consider an appeal to a challenge to the Affordable Care Act, the court declined to do so, it said Tuesday. That doesn't affect the status of the ACA for the time being, but does deny Democrats a strategy they were likely to employ during the 2020 campaign season.

Texas introduced its lawsuit against the ACA in 2018 in an attempt to declare it unconstitutional, and a federal court ruled in Texas' favor. The judge in the case did let the ACA temporarily remain in effect because of the "uncertainty" that a likely appeal would bring. The Democratic attorneys general who appealed the case to the Supreme Court similarly requested a quick decision because dragging it out further "threatens adverse consequences for our nation's health care system," but the court denied that on Tuesday.

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The uncertainty surrounding the appeal leaves Democrats still able to argue Republicans are trying to dismantle the ACA and its health care protections to people with preexisting conditions. This strategy paid off in 2018, Politico notes, though Democrats still "worry that Republicans could dodge political consequences if ObamaCare is ultimately struck down after the November election."