The leaders of three national hospital associations are blasting the Trump administration for supporting a lawsuit that would strike down the Affordable Care Act in its entirety, potentially leaving millions of people without health insurance.

The Department of Justice recently issued a legal brief in the case Texas vs. Azar auguring the court should find ACA unconstitutional. The lawsuit was filed by several Republican-led states who argued that the health care law was invalid because Congress zeroed-out the individual mandate penalty in 2017. A Texas district judge sided with the states, but the decision is being appealed with the Democrat-controlled states leading the defense.

If the ruling is upheld, some 21 million American could lose their health insurance, according to The New York Times. The defeat of the law also would mean the end of popular provisions such as a ban on denying coverage because of pre-existing conditions. President Donald Trump has promised to introduce a new plan for health care but so far has not presented one. https://nyti.ms/2UanA1R

Among the critics of the Trump administration decision is the Rick Pollack, CEO of the American Hospital Association. In a statement, he called it "misguided."

"The position is unprecedented and unsupported by the law or the facts," Pollack said. "Millions of Americans would lose the coverage they have relied on for years. We have made too much progress in coverage and access to care for patients to go backwards."

Chip Kahn, CEO of the Federation of American Hospitals, called the administration's actions "unfortunate but not unexpected considering their long-held views on the health law."

"Millions of Americans depend on the ACA to access health care and rely on the insurance protections afforded in the law," he said in a statement. "We continue to believe the district court judge got it wrong and trust that this decision will be overturned in the appeals process."

Sister Carol Keehan, CEO of the Catholic Health Association, also weighed in by calling the administration's support for the lawsuit "unconscionable and immoral."

"The time has come for our government to stop playing politics with people's health and livelihoods," she said.

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