Judge halts implementation of some Trump administration changes that would chip away at Obamacare

Source: CNN Politics

PUBLISHED Aug 22, 2025, 7:53 PM ET


A federal judge in Baltimore has halted certain provisions of an Affordable Care Act regulation that the Trump administration is set to implement on Monday and could lead to as many as 1.8 million Americans losing their health insurance. The decision issued Friday by US District Judge Brendan Hurson puts on hold a half a dozen changes in the rule, which critics say will make it harder to enroll in and maintain Obamacare coverage, as well as make it more expensive.

Hurson blocked the implementation of measures that would impose additional income verification mandates; allow insurers to bar enrollees with past-due premiums; and levy a $5 premium on certain consumers until they confirm their eligibility for federal premium subsidies, among others. However, he let other provisions stand. The ruling means that the administration cannot begin implementing the specific measures while the lawsuit plays out.

Hurson, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, agreed with arguments pushed by a group of Democratic-led cities that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services lacked authority to make some of the changes or that the planned tweaks were contrary to existing federal law.

In a 76-page ruling, the judge concluded that absent his block against some of the changes, the cities that brought the lawsuit will “suffer significant and irreparable harm.”

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/22/politics/obamacare-coverage-changes-pause-trump