A Republican state senator has sued California’s Obamacare marketplace for its role in canceling health plans under the law.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Sen. Ted Gaines filed the lawsuit Wednesday. He alleged that Covered California, the entity that set up and runs the Obamacare marketplace the state, had violated federal and state laws when it required insurance companies that wanted to sell plans to cancel their non-compliant policies.
Gaines linked that decision to the 900,000 canceled plans in California, according to the Times. He announced in October that he would run for state insurance commissioner this year. He is challenging sitting commissioner Dave Jones, who, as TPM reported, had urged the state’s website to comply with the Obamacare ‘fix’ that would have allowed people to keep non-compliant plans.
“This lawsuit stands with consumers and puts a stop to this unchecked government abuse,” Gaines said. Covered California told the Times that it had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment.
Under the Obamacare ‘fix’ offered by the Obama administration last November, states could choose whether or not to implement the policy. Covered California’s board voted not to allow the ‘fix’ to take effect.
