Judge strikes down Trump's association health plan rule

A federal judge struck down one of President Trump’s heath-care initiatives on Thursday, ruling that a provision allowing small businesses and individuals to band together to create group health plans "is clearly an end-run around" the Affordable Care Act. 

Why it matters: This is a victory for a coalition of almost a dozen Democratic state attorneys general seeking to block the association health plan policy the administration rolled out last year. It also comes after the Justice Department said in a court filing Monday that courts should strike down the entire Affordable Care Act, not just its protections for people with pre-existing conditions.