ENCROACHING ON STATE POWERS?
It is not clear when challenges to a Trump order would be filed. The timing could depend on if and when the Cabinet departments begin taking steps to put the plan in place.
State attorneys general would likely be among the first to legally challenge Trump’s order or regulations that stem from it, said Dania Palanker, an assistant research professor at Georgetown University’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms.
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said in a statement on Wednesday that her office “will oppose any attempt to undermine” the state’s commitment to ensuring that every resident has access to quality healthcare.
Healey is one of several Democrats who previously sued to block Trump policies, including his proposal to block travel to the United States from six Muslim-majority countries.
In addition to challenging Trump’s healthcare proposal on ERISA grounds, the states could also oppose it on federalist grounds, said Hoffman. She noted that states had primary power to regulate insurance, except where a federal law explicitly says otherwise, as Obamacare does.