Nevada joins effort to defend Affordable Care Act

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, with the support of Gov. Steve Sisolak, filed a motion on behalf of the State of Nevada to intervene in a federal lawsuit that seeks to defend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). Nevada is joined by attorneys general from Colorado, Iowa and Michigan in this action.

Nevada and the three other intervening states seek to join 17 other states and territories in their appeal of a Texas judge’s December ruling declaring the ACA unconstitutional. In their motion, the states seek to defend the ACA to protect the infrastructure of their existing healthcare and the orderly operation of their healthcare systems, which would be thrown in disarray if the ACA were ruled unconstitutional.

“The Affordable Care Act provides critical access to health care, particularly for Nevadans with pre-existing conditions,” said Ford. “With this Texas ruling, the health care of hundreds of thousands of Nevadans hangs in the balance. Gov. Sisolak and I will use all legal options to ensure all Nevadans have accessible, affordable health care, including joining this important litigation.”

In addition to Nevada, Colorado, Iowa and Michigan, the following states and territories are involved in this action: California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.