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Open enrollment was scheduled to end on Saturday in most states, and every year, a surge of people sign up at the last minute. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services sent out an email to millions of Americans on Saturday trying to allay concerns, and HealthCare.gov displayed a red banner alerting people that the court’s decision would not affect open enrollment. “Are you covered yet?” HealthCare.gov tweeted on Saturday. “Hurry!” (Mervosh, 12/16)

The ruling by a federal judge in Texas striking down the Affordable Care Act has injected a powerful wave of uncertainty about recent changes woven into the U.S. health-care system that touch nearly all Americans and the industry that makes up one-sixth of the economy. The opinion, if upheld on appeal, would upend the health insurance industry, the way doctors and hospitals function, and the ability of millions of Americans to access treatments they need to combat serious diseases. (Goldstein, 12/16)

The White House confirmed that the law remains in effect pending appeal, even as President Donald Trump called the ruling “great news” and suggested Congress start working on a replacement. The ruling has “no impact to current coverage or coverage in a 2019 plan,” Seema Verma, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, tweeted. (Tozzi, 12/17)

Expanded Medicaid for millions. Penalties for poorly performing hospitals. Even the Trump administration's own plans to lower drug prices. Those and many other initiatives would all be illegal under a federal judge’s sweeping decision that the entire Affordable Care Act must be struck down — the latest shock to the nation’s health system after a decade of upheavals, including two fights over the ACA that reached the Supreme Court. (Diamond, 12/15)

Practically speaking, nothing will happen right away. The judge didn’t immediately block enforcement of the ACA, so it remains in effect for now. The White House on Friday night said the law would stay in place during the appeals stage of the case, a process that could take many months. ... It is an open question whether some states may attempt to back away from administering the health law starting next month, once the elimination of the tax penalty goes into effect. If they do, it could spark additional litigation. (Kendall, 12/15)

Tim Jost, a professor emeritus at Washington and Lee Law School and an expert on the health law, told CQ on Saturday that the next procedural steps are unclear. A group of Democratic attorneys general that are defending the law will likely soon file an appeal, but because the judge filed a declaratory judgment, rather than an injunction, all parties involved may need to take more time to figure out the next steps. "The main effect right now is just a tremendous amount of confusion," Jost said. "I think we could possibly lose thousands or tens of thousands of people who need to sign up today." (McIntire, 12/15)

ObamaCare's latest open enrollment period ended Saturday with the future of the law facing uncertainty after a federal judge in Texas struck it down. Sign-ups for ObamaCare plans at healthcare.gov, the federal platform used by 39 states, had already lagged behind previous years, putting enrollment on track to drop for the second year in a row under the Trump administration. (Hellmann, 12/17)

U.S. health-care stocks are poised for a potentially ugly trading session Monday as investors weigh in on a judge’s ruling that Obamacare is unconstitutional. A judge sided with Texas late Friday in a lawsuit alleging that Congress’s decision in 2017 to kill a related tax penalty essentially voided the entire Affordable Care Act. While many analysts expect the ruling to be reversed by higher courts, the news adds to volatility in a sector that had barely recovered from political overhangs this year and yet remains the top performing sector in the S&P 500. (Darie, 12/16)

After the U.S. Department of Justice said it wouldn’t defend Obamacare in court, [Maryland Attorney General Brian] Frosh filed a case in September. It seeks what’s known as a declaratory judgment saying that Obamacare passes constitutional muster. The Justice Department is seeking to have Frosh’s suit thrown out, arguing that Maryland doesn’t have grounds to bring a case in the first place. Frosh acknowledged that the case was unusual but said it was important that Maryland fight in court. (Duncan, 12/15)

If you plan to get health insurance through MNsure or have already, nothing changes despite a federal judge’s ruling that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional. “Given the recent Texas court case, I wanted to remind Minnesotans that the Affordable Care Act is still the law of the land and that MNsure is open for business,” Gov. Mark Dayton said Saturday in a statement. (Stahl, 12/15)

Reaction in Georgia was swift to a ruling Friday night from a federal judge in Texas striking down the entire Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.Chris Carr, Georgia’s attorney general, said the ruling was just what he and other Republican leaders had argued, when Carr in February added Georgia’s weight behind the lawsuit as one of 20 states challenging the law. (Hart, 12/15)