Supreme Court Declines to Expedite ACA Case

The United States Supreme Court denied motions to expedite consideration of Texas v. Azar, the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) individual mandate.

This decision follows a federal appeals court ruling that the individual mandate is unconstitutional due to the elimination of the individual mandate penalty in 2019. The appeals court remanded the case to the lower court to determine whether the rest of the ACA can remain in place without the 

individual mandate. However, the U.S. House of Representatives and several states asked the Supreme Court to take up the case before the lower court issued a ruling.

Because the Supreme Court declined to expedite the case, the lower court is now tasked with determining whether the rest of the ACA may be severed from the individual mandate provision.

The lower court’s ruling is expected to ultimately be appealed to the Supreme Court, and a final decision is not expected to be made until that time. It is likely that any ruling eliminating the ACA will be stayed pending appeal.

 

Source: Zywave, 2020