HLS 201ES-423 ORIGINAL
2020 First Extraordinary Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 43
BY REPRESENTATIVE LANDRY
ATTORNEY GENERAL: Requests the attorney general to withdraw the state of Louisiana
from the lawsuit challenging the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
1 A RESOLUTION
2To urge and request the attorney general to withdraw the state of Louisiana from the lawsuit
3 challenging the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
4 WHEREAS, on March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed H.R. 3590, the
5Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, into law; and
6 WHEREAS, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is landmark legislation
7which provides greater access to health insurance and reshaped the way people may access
8health care treatment; and
9 WHEREAS, Louisiana began to implement certain provisions from the Act in 2013,
10such as providing access to insurance for Louisianans with pre-existing conditions and
11extending coverage for young adults; and
12 WHEREAS, open enrollment in the health insurance marketplace began October 1,
132013, in Louisiana; and
14 WHEREAS, the establishment of the health insurance marketplace, tax credits, and
15subsidies for low- and moderate-income Louisianans to afford insurance were implemented
16in 2014; and
17 WHEREAS, between 2013 and 2016, the numbers of uninsured individuals in
18Louisiana declined by over thirty percent, and that such decline is a direct result of the
19implementation of certain provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; and
20 WHEREAS, on July 1, 2016, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards issued
21Executive Order No. JBE 16-01 ordering the expansion of Medicaid in the state of
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HR NO. 43
1Louisiana, extending coverage to adults earning up to one hundred thirty-eight percent of the
2federal poverty level; and
3 WHEREAS, approximately five hundred thousand low income Louisianans receive
4health insurance coverage through the state's expansion of Medicaid, resulting in historically
5low uninsured rates in our state; and
6 WHEREAS, in February 2018, eighteen attorneys general and two governors filed
7suit in federal district court to challenge the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and
8Affordable Care Act's individual mandate and to seek a ruling on the constitutionality of the
9Act; and
10 WHEREAS, in September 2018, the attorney general of Louisiana joined Louisiana
11in the suit entitled Texas v. Azar, 945 F.3d 355 (5th Cir. 2019); and
12 WHEREAS, in December 2019, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals remanded Texas
13v. Azar back to the lower district court; and
14 WHEREAS, on March 2, 2020, the United States Supreme Court granted a writ of
15certiorari to hear arguments in Texas v. Azar; and
16 WHEREAS, on May 24, 2019, Governor John Bel Edwards created the Protecting
17Louisiana Task Force through Executive Order No. JBE 19-4; and
18 WHEREAS, the purpose of the Protecting Louisiana Task Force was to study the
19impacts of the loss of health coverage and health protections that will occur if Texas v. Azar
20results in an invalidation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; and
21 WHEREAS, the task force reported that Louisiana will suffer a loss of revenue from
22the federal government in excess of three billion dollars if the Patient Protection and
23Affordable Care Act is invalidated; and
24 WHEREAS, the task force warned that the state of Louisiana will need to allocate
25five hundred thirty-six million additional dollars to replace the loss of federal subsidies that
26currently fund health care for people with pre-existing health conditions, because these funds
27will cease to exist if the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is invalidated; and
28 WHEREAS, uninsured persons are more likely to be burdened with medical debt and
29unable to afford the cost of health care; and
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HR NO. 43
1 WHEREAS, as a result, many forego preventative care as well as treatment even
2after experiencing the debilitating manifestations associated with chronic illness and disease;
3and
4 WHEREAS, Louisiana's joinder to Texas v. Azar is not in the best interest of the state
5of Louisiana and, in particular, the health and welfare of its residents; and
6 WHEREAS, the invalidation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
7would be detrimental to those same citizens.
8 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
9Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the attorney general of Louisiana to
10withdraw from the suit challenging the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
11 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
12attorney general of Louisiana.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HR 43 Original 2020 First Extraordinary Session Landry
Requests the attorney general to withdraw the state of Louisiana from the lawsuit
challenging the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
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