Where Does Trump’s SCOTUS Nominee Land on Health Care and Preexisting Conditions?

Last night President Trump officially nominated Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court during a prime-time ceremony. The onslaught of political dollars will begin to flood into states like North Dakota to try and influence not only the opinion of our state’s Senators but also the voting public. The rush of campaign ads will also be used to indirectly impact the Senate race and its candidates in a partisan way. One of the topics that should not be overlooked in the confirmation process is that of preexisting condition protections and health care.

Where exactly does Kavanaugh stand when it comes to preexisting conditions and health care? This seems like a rather important question as Republican Attorney Generals, including North Dakota’s own Wayne Stenehjem, have filed suit to throw out those protections and deem the law unconstitutional. The new case follows the rushed GOP tax reform in December of last year. The Trump administration declared they won’t defend the existing law in court. These new dynamics make health care coverage a central part of the judiciary once again.

Republicans in Congress failed to fulfill their eight year promise of “repeal and replace.” It is because they never had a replacement that was coherent or workable. That doesn’t mean they’ve given up on the repeal side of the ledger. They’re just undertaking a different approach. They’ve repealed just enough to make a new argument against it in court. The bottom line is, the decision could be higher premiums and fewer coverage options.

This nomination has given special interest groups another reason to spend millions of dollars on political ads. They have their eyes set on North Dakota. While the airwaves become saturated from these groups promoting their own cause, I encourage people not to lose sight of the other potential judicial outcomes likely on its way to the Supreme Court.