U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear ACA Challenge

From Hall Render Killian Heath & Lyman PC:

On March 2, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case directly challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. In the case, Texas v. United States, the Northern District of Texas ruled that the individual mandate in the ACA was unconstitutional, because the former tax penalty was reduced to zero dollars, and thus no longer a tax pursuant to Congress’s taxing power. The court then declared the entire ACA invalid because the individual mandate was an essential feature of the legislation.

After an appeal from the Department of Justice, Democratic states, and the House of Representatives, the ruling was affirmed but the issue of severability sent the case back to the Fifth Circuit. The same appellees filed a petition for certiorari and the U.S. Supreme Court granted the petition in order to review the issue of severability.

Though the final fate of the ACA will most likely not be decided before the 2020 election, but the decision will surely spark a strong response from the many individuals who would lose insurance coverage, as well as providers who will be greatly impacted by the change.

This article was submitted by Madison Hartman. If you would like to submit content or write an article for the Health Care & Life Sciences Section, please email Kara Sikorski at ksikorski@indybar.org.