Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R), who filed a brief opposing a lawsuit aiming to strike down the Affordable Care Act, said in an interview that aired Thursday on “Rising” that he would have supported the lawsuit in the immediate aftermath of ObamaCare’s passage.
“In 2010 and 2011, I probably would have supported this lawsuit,” Yost told Hill.TV’s Jamal Simmons. “At that time I was the state auditor, so it didn’t matter what I thought.”
“But that’s a different law than what we have today,” he continued. “It’s been amended 55 times, and today’s lawsuit is after the Supreme Court has weighed in twice, said what the constitutionality is, and then we had more amendments in 2017.”
President Trump and Republicans including Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine have thrown their support behind a Texas lawsuit that aims to throw out the entire Affordable Care Act.
Yost filed the brief in an effort to shield parts of the law, including protections for those with pre-existing conditions.
The state attorney general said that while he disagrees with DeWine on the lawsuit, they both agree that the issue of pre-existing conditions needs to be addressed.
“His position is, we need to protect people with pre-existing conditions, so he didn’t ask me to file this lawsuit. But we’re on the same page in terms of the policy outcome that we think ought to happen,” he said.
— Julia Manchester
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