On Friday evening a federal judge in Texas ruled that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is unconstitutional without a penalty for not having insurance, potentially threatening healthcare coverage for millions of Americans.

Multiple Pennsylvania officials — including Gov. Tom Wolf, Attorney General Josh Shapiro, Insurance Commissioner Jessica Altman and Secretary of Human Services Teresa Miller — condemned the Texas federal judge’s decision ruling the ACA unconstitutional, saying this action could threaten comprehensive health coverage for millions of Pennsylvanians.

“If this decision were to be upheld by the higher courts, it could jeopardize coverage for the over 1.1 million Pennsylvanians who have gained coverage only available to them because of the ACA,” Wolf said in a statement over the weekend. “This would move our healthcare system backwards to a time when millions of Pennsylvania residents weren’t protected from losing their insurance and Pennsylvania’s uninsured rate was almost triple today’s rate. These outcomes are simply unacceptable. If any court does damage to the Affordable Care Act, I vow to do everything in my power to enact changes at the state level to protect Pennsylvanians, especially vulnerable populations and those with pre-existing conditions.”

In brief summation, U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor of Texas issued the decision, declaring that key portions of the legislation were inconsistent with the Constitution, thus unconstitutional. As part of a tax overhaul a year ago, Congressional Republicans had pushed through a change in which the ACA penalty to individuals for not having health insurance will be eliminated, starting in January.

The Texas lawsuit argued that, with the penalty gone, the individual mandate could no longer be characterized as a tax, so it was unconstitutional.

The mandate, which will remain in effect for the 2018 tax season, was a key part of ACA legislation, otherwise known as Obamacare.

While the current state of healthcare coverage for millions of Americans is in question, Pennsylvania residents are not bound by this current court ruling. Because Pennsylvania was not a party to the suit, the ruling issued by O’Conner is not applicable, as it is only binding on the parties of the suit.

According to the Office of Attorney General Shapiro, the decision was made not to intervene in this lawsuit because it did not want Pennsylvania to be bound by this expected unfavorable court ruling in a way that would jeopardize coverage for Pennsylvanians for pre-existing conditions.

“Pennsylvanians should be assured that I will continue to enforce the ACA’s vital protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions. Because Pennsylvania chose not to be a party to this lawsuit, we are not bound by this decision, and I will not let one misguided judge in Texas prevent us from protecting the residents of the Commonwealth,” said Shapiro in a statement.

In advance to O’Conner’s decision, Shapiro and his legal team worked with Wolf and the Pennsylvania Insurance Department to see that the ACA’s protections would continue to be enforced in the Commonwealth, no matter what the judge decided.

Going forward, according to the offices of Wolf and Shapiro, state officials will continue enforcing the ACA’s protections in Pennsylvania. If the federal government tries to prevent that from happening, or otherwise denies Pennsylvanians any of their legal rights under the ACA, they intend to take legal action to stop them.

“Since I was sworn in as Attorney General nearly two years ago, I have fought to protect Pennsylvanians against any attempt to rollback their health coverage. I will continue to fight any effort to deny our residents the protections guaranteed by the Affordable Care Act — whether that attack comes from the Trump Administration, insurance companies or a federal jurist.”

The Trump Administration has confirmed this ruling will have no immediate effect on enforcement of the Affordable Care Act.

The White House issued a statement Friday night saying: “We expect this ruling will be appealed to the Supreme Court. Pending the appeal process, the law remains in place.”

In conclusion, the Wolf Administration reminds consumers any health plans they have purchased for 2019 enrollment coverage will still contain vital protections such as those for pre-existing conditions, preventive care, mental health and substance use disorder, and prescription drugs while the court proceedings play out.