{"id":251,"date":"2023-01-18T10:38:56","date_gmt":"2023-01-18T10:38:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jrhastingslaw.com\/?post_type=newsletter&p=251"},"modified":"2023-01-18T10:38:56","modified_gmt":"2023-01-18T10:38:56","slug":"federal-judge-declares-the-affordable-care-act-unconstitutional","status":"publish","type":"newsletter","link":"https:\/\/www.jrhastingslaw.com\/newsletter\/federal-judge-declares-the-affordable-care-act-unconstitutional\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal Judge Declares the Affordable Care Act Unconstitutional"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Volume 10, Issue 2<\/b><\/div>\n
ElderCounselor<\/div>\n
Federal Judge Declares the Affordable Care Act Unconstitutional<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
On December 14, 2018, a federal judge in Texas ruled that the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as ObamaCare, is unconstitutional because of a recent change in federal tax law.<\/p>\n

The opinion, by U.S. District Judge Reed O\u2019Connor, overturns all of the law nationwide. If the ruling stands, it will create widespread disruption across the U.S health-care system, potentially upending hundreds of provisions in the law that was a prized domestic achievement of President Barack Obama.<\/p>\n

In this issue, we will explain how this ruling came about, how the ruling might affect seniors, and what we can expect going forward.<\/p>\n

Explaining the Ruling<\/strong>
\nIn 2010, the ACA created an individual mandate to expand health insurance coverage, along with Medicaid expansion and subsidies for moderate and low-income households. The mandate required most Americans to maintain \u201cminimum essential\u201d coverage, enforced through a \u201cshared responsibility payment\u201d in the form of a tax. In short, those who chose not to have health insurance were required to pay a tax penalty.<\/p>\n

In 2012, the Supreme Court\u2019s Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. wrote that the penalty the law created for Americans who do not carry health insurance is constitutional because Congress \u201cdoes have the power to impose a tax on those without health insurance.\u201d (In that same ruling, the Court struck down the ACA\u2019s provision that was set to expand Medicaid nationwide, instead of letting each state decide on its own whether to participate in Medicaid expansion.)<\/p>\n

In December 2017, Congress enacted the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act<\/i> which reduced the tax penalty to $0, effectively eliminating the individual mandate. In June 2018, the Texas Attorney General, joined by 18 additional Republican state attorneys general and two governors, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Their lawsuit argued that with the enforcement of the insurance requirement gone, there is no longer a tax, so the law is no longer constitutional. \u201cOnce the heart of the ACA\u2014the individual mandate\u2014is declared unconstitutional, the remainder of the ACA must also fail,\u201d their lawsuit states.<\/p>\n

Judge O\u2019Connor agreed. He wrote that the individual mandate is unconstitutional, saying that it \u201ccan no longer be fairly read as an exercise of Congress\u2019 tax power.\u201d He concluded that this insurance requirement \u201cis essential to and inseverable from the remainder of the ACA,\u201d and declared the entire ACA unconstitutional.<\/p>\n

Texas Attorney General Paxton praised the ruling, saying that it \u201chalts an unconstitutional exertion of federal power over the American health care system\u201d so that Congress can have \u201cthe opportunity to replace the failed social experiment with a plan that ensures Texans and all Americans will again have a greater choice about what health coverage they need and who will be their doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n

The decision was announced in the closing hours of open enrollment, which led to some confusion for last-minute enrollees. The White House issued a statement to alleviate concerns, saying, \u201cWe expect this ruling will be appealed to the Supreme Court. Pending the appeal process, the law remains in place.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also issued a statement that the court\u2019s ruling was \u201cnot an injunction that halts the enforcement of the law and not a final judgment\u201d and said the agency would \u201ccontinue administering and enforcing all aspects of the ACA.\u201d<\/p>\n

What Happens Next?<\/strong>
\nThe ACA has already made its way twice to the U.S. Supreme Court, once in 2012 and again in 2015, and it does appear to be headed there again.<\/p>\n

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, a Democrat and former U.S. Congressman, is leading a group of states defending the ACA and is challenging the ruling in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th<\/sup> Circuit. Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, and Nevada recently joined California and 16 other Democrat state attorneys general in the appeal. The U.S. House of Representatives has also moved to intervene as a defendant. The Democrats contend that while the Republican tax law eliminates the federal penalty for being uninsured, it does not negate the entire ACA\u2019s constitutionality. They also argue that Congress intended to keep the ACA in place when it set the individual mandate penalty to zero while leaving the rest of the law intact.<\/p>\n

Judge O\u2019Connor\u2019s ruling goes beyond the Trump administration\u2019s legal position in the case. In a June 2018 court brief, Justice Department officials contended that once the insurance mandate\u2019s penalty is gone, the ACA\u2019s consumer protections, such as its ban on charging more or refusing to cover people with pre-existing medical conditions, would be invalidated. However, they stated that many other parts of the law could be considered legally distinct and therefore continue.<\/p>\n

Typically, the executive branch argues for upholding existing statutes in court cases, but in this case, the administration took the unusual step of telling the court that it will not defend the ACA against this latest challenge. The Trump administration has been taking steps on its own to foster alternative insurance that would be less expensive because it does not have certain ACA requirements. After the ruling, President Trump encouraged Congress to pass a \u201cstrong law that provides great healthcare and protects pre-existing conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

In its statement, the HHS added that the administration \u201cstands ready to work with Congress on policy solutions that will deliver more insurance choices, better health care, and lower costs while continuing to protect individuals with pre-existing conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

How Would Ending the ACA Affect Seniors?<\/strong>
\nMany experts are skeptical that this decision will ultimately be upheld by the Supreme Court. However, if the Court does determine that the ACA is unconstitutional after eight years of implementation, almost every aspect of health care as we know it today would be affected.<\/p>\n

For example, the ACA provided:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Coverage for more than 19 million people who were previously uninsured;<\/li>\n
  • Protections for people with pre-existing conditions;<\/li>\n
  • Insurance marketplaces and premium subsidies for low- and modest-income people;<\/li>\n
  • Expansion of Medicaid eligibility for low-income adults;<\/li>\n
  • Coverage of preventive services with no cost-sharing for those enrolled in private insurance, Medicare and Medicaid expansion;<\/li>\n
  • Phase-out of the \u201cdoughnut hole\u201d gap in Medicare drug coverage and reductions in the growth of Medicare costs (see below); and<\/li>\n
  • New national initiatives to promote public health and quality of care, including programs to fight obesity, curb tobacco use, prevent the onset of chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, promote immunization, and detect and respond to infectious diseases and other public health threats.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Without a replacement for the ACA, it is estimated that over 4.5 million older adults age 55-64 who have coverage through the marketplaces and Medicaid expansion would lose access to health care. For millions more, health care would become either unaffordable or unattainable because health insurance companies would again be permitted to charge seniors based on age, and increase premiums or deny coverage to the 8 out of 10 older adults with a pre-existing condition.<\/p>\n

    There would also likely be changes to Medicare that would affect millions of seniors, including:<\/p>\n

\n
Law Offices of J.R. Hastings \u2022 1003 Third Street, San Rafael, California 94901 \u2022 415-450-6692<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"template":"","newsletter-category":[11],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFederal Judge Declares the Affordable Care Act Unconstitutional - JR Hastings<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jrhastingslaw.com\/newsletter\/federal-judge-declares-the-affordable-care-act-unconstitutional\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Federal Judge Declares the Affordable Care Act Unconstitutional - JR Hastings\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Volume 10, Issue 2 ElderCounselor Federal Judge Declares the Affordable Care Act Unconstitutional On December 14, 2018, a federal judge in Texas ruled that the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as ObamaCare, is unconstitutional because of a recent change in federal tax law. 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