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Coalition Sues Over Federal Rule That Reinstates Provisions Blocked by a Federal Court and Adds New Harmful Changes
BALTIMORE, MD – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to challenge a federal rule that once again unlawfully undermines the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and would make health insurance more expensive and harder to obtain for millions of Americans.
The lawsuit seeks to block provisions of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) 2027 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters, a federal rule that sets standards for health plans offered in 2027 and was opposed by the coalition, including Maryland, in a March 2026 comment letter. Among other harmful changes, the rule expands eligibility for catastrophic health insurance plans that are ineligible for premium tax credits, offer only limited coverage, and can leave consumers facing significantly higher out-of-pocket costs than standard ACA plans. The rule also allows catastrophic and bronze plans to exceed ACA limits on maximum annual out-of-pocket costs, increasing the financial burden on consumers, and attempts to reinstate several provisions that a federal court recently found to be unlawful. The coalition argues these and other provisions unlawfully undermine the ACA’s goal of expanding access to affordable healthcare by increasing costs, reducing enrollment, and shifting financial burdens onto consumers, states, and healthcare providers.
Congress enacted the ACA to expand access to affordable health insurance, and more than 23 million Americans currently receive coverage through its marketplaces. Today’s lawsuit follows the coalition’s challenge to the Trump Administration’s similar 2025 ACA Marketplace rule. In related litigation, a federal court last month vacated several provisions of the administration’s 2025 rule – including repeated provisions at issue in this case – after finding that they violated the Administrative Procedure Act. The administration’s new rule setting standards for 2027 health plans, which is the subject of today’s lawsuit, brings back many of the same provisions and adds new changes that further undermine the ACA. HHS estimates the new rule will cause two million people to lose coverage in 2027 alone and a total of five million by 2030.
In today’s lawsuit, the coalition argues that the new rule:
· Reimposes provisions that a federal court has already vacated – including additional income verification requirements and penalties for consumers who do not complete tax-credit paperwork – without addressing the court’s legal concerns;
· Unlawfully expands eligibility for catastrophic health plans beyond the limits established by Congress in the ACA;
· Unlawfully allows catastrophic and bronze plans to exceed ACA limits on maximum annual out-of-pocket costs;
· Will increase costs, reduce enrollment, and shift financial burdens onto consumers, healthcare providers, and states; and
· Was adopted without adequate explanation or a meaningful response to the coalition’s comments, making it arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act.
Joining Attorney General Brown in filing the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin, as well as Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.
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