Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul

Chicago — Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of 22 states, urged a federal court to uphold a lower court ruling blocking key provisions of an unlawful rule issued by the Trump administration in June 2025. The rule would make it harder for consumers to enroll in and maintain health coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), increase healthcare costs and leave more people uninsured. 

“Millions of Americans, including some of our most vulnerable residents, rely on the Affordable Care Act for their health insurance coverage,” Raoul said. “I urge the court to uphold the lower court’s ruling and reject this arbitrary and illegal rule that would result in more people being uninsured at a time when many families are struggling to make ends meet.”

The coalition filed an amicus brief in City of Columbus v. Kennedy before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. The plaintiffs secured a major victory in June 2026, when the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland ruled in their favor and blocked key provisions of the rule. Federal officials appealed the ruling. Raoul and the coalition are now asking the appeals court to uphold it.

In their amicus brief, Attorney General Raoul and the coalition argue that allowing the federal rule to take effect would impose significant compliance costs on states, reduce funding for state health insurance exchanges as fewer people enroll in coverage and drive up uncompensated care costs as the uninsured population grows.

Joining Raoul in filing the brief are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington, along with the governor of Pennsylvania.