NH joins lawsuit against Feds

I think this is from WKBK-AM’s website from 8/2024:

'Concord, NH — A coalition of 15 U.S. states has filed a lawsuit against the federal government, challenging a new rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that expands healthcare coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to include Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients.

The lawsuit, led by Kansas and joined by New Hampshire, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota, according to a news release from the N.H. Attorney General’s office.

The states argue that the CMS rule unlawfully expands the definition of “lawfully present” individuals to include certain categories of non-citizens, such as DACA recipients, who are not legally present in the United States according to existing federal laws. This expansion would make over 200,000 DACA recipients eligible for taxpayer-subsidized health plans through the ACA.

“New Hampshire is committed to maintaining the integrity of our laws and the rules governing public benefits,” said New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella in the release. “We believe this new CMS rule ignores the clear intent of Congress and threatens to misuse taxpayer money from New Hampshire and across the nation. It’s crucial that federal regulations follow legal limits established by Congress and don’t go beyond what the law allows to ensure that taxpayer funds are used properly.”

The lawsuit claims that the CMS rule, published on May 8, 2024, violates the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996, which restricts federal public benefits to specific categories of “qualified aliens.” The states contend that allowing DACA recipients to receive ACA benefits undermines the criteria established by Congress and imposes significant financial and administrative burdens on state-administered healthcare exchanges and other public services.

“In the ACA, Congress limited eligibility to participate in a qualified health plan through a subsidized health exchange to citizens or nationals of the United States and individuals ‘lawfully present’ in the United States,” the complaint reads. The coalition of states argues that this rule exceeds the Administration’s authority and that new legislation would be required to expand the criteria for receiving public benefits.

“New legislation would be required to expand the criteria for receiving public benefits. This new rule ignores and effectively overturns the clear criteria established by Congress for receipt of this public benefit. We are asking the Court to uphold the bedrock principle of our Constitutional order that Congress makes the laws, and the executive branch enforces them,” Formella added.

The states are asking the Court to block the implementation of the CMS rule, arguing that it could have serious financial consequences for states and harm the integrity of federal public benefit programs. ’