The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on certain red states’ challenge to the Affordable Care Act on November 10, one week after the November 3 presidential election, according to the court’s online docket released on Wednesday, August 19. The central argument in the case is whether the entire ACA is invalid without a … Continue reading
On Wednesday, December 18, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held in Texas v. Azar that the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) individual mandate is unconstitutional and remanded the case to the lower court for further review. In a split 2-1 panel decision, the Fifth Circuit held that the individual mandate is … Continue reading
On Friday, December 14, Judge Reed O’Connor of the Federal District Court in the Northern District of Texas issued a declaratory judgment holding the shared responsibility provision (also referred to as the “Individual Mandate”), and with it, the entire Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), to be unconstitutional. The case is Texas v. United States and California … Continue reading
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on June 7, 2018 that it will no longer defend the constitutionality of section 5000A of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a.k.a. the individual mandate. DOJ announced its policy change in a three page letter to Congress and a brief in response to the plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary … Continue reading
On November 14, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) released the Chairman’s Mark to the Senate version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Hatch’s version of the tax plan effectively repeals the Affordable Care Act (ACA) individual mandate by reducing the associated penalty to $0. The ACA individual mandate requires individuals to buy … Continue reading
U.S. Senate Republican leadership yesterday released its draft health care reform legislation entitled the “Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017.” The Senate legislation would retain two key provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA): (i) insurers are prohibited from denying coverage or increasing an individual’s premiums based on a preexisting medical condition; and (ii) young … Continue reading