New Jersey joins multistate lawsuit challenging federal rule affecting Affordable Care Act coverage
TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin has joined a coalition of 21 states in filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), challenging a new federal rule that state officials say could lead to up to 1.8 million people losing access to affordable health insurance coverage.
The lawsuit, filed ahead of the rule’s scheduled August 25 effective date, argues that the regulation violates the Administrative Procedure Act by being “arbitrary and capricious” and contrary to the goals of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The coalition is also seeking a preliminary injunction to block the rule from taking effect in participating states.
The final rule, issued by HHS and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, would implement a number of changes to federal and state-run health insurance marketplaces. These include new eligibility verification requirements, shortened enrollment periods, and additional cost-sharing obligations, which critics say will erect administrative and financial barriers to coverage.
According to HHS’s own estimates, the rule could cause between 725,000 and 1.8 million people to lose their health insurance, while millions more could see higher premiums, deductibles, and other out-of-pocket costs.
“Deliberately making it harder for millions of residents to access affordable health insurance is wrong and unlawful, and we will fight it,” Platkin said Thursday. “As New Jersey and other states prepare for the 2026 open enrollment period, this rule threatens to cause confusion in the healthcare marketplace and create barriers to coverage.”
The lawsuit highlights the success of ACA marketplaces in expanding health insurance access over the past decade. In New Jersey, a record 513,217 residents enrolled in coverage through the state’s marketplace, Get Covered New Jersey, during the most recent open enrollment period—nearly doubling enrollment since the state assumed control of the exchange in 2020.
State officials argue that the new rule would reverse these gains, impose new paperwork burdens, and increase costs for state-run healthcare programs, including Medicaid and emergency services for the uninsured.
Joining Platkin in the legal challenge are attorneys general from California, Massachusetts, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin, along with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.
