the staff of the Ridewood blog
Fort Worth Tx, On Friday night a federal judge in Texas ruled the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional , likely setting up a final decision on the law’s fate at the Supreme Court.
The law, known as Obamacare, was effectively nullified by the ruling. Judge Reed O’Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, in Fort Worth, heard arguments in the case in early September, but did not issue his ruling until Friday evening.
He did not, however, grant the plaintiffs’ request for an injunction, meaning the law’s provisions remain in effect until an appeal reaches the Supreme Court, or the ruling is reversed by an Appeals Court. That means that the current open enrollment period regulated by Obamacare continuing through its Saturday deadline.
At issue in the case was the individual mandate, the provision in Obamacare that requires everyone to have health insurance or face a penalty in the form of a tax. The Supreme Court upheld that part of the law in 2012, ruling it fell in line with Congress’ power to levy taxes.
Congress, eliminated the tax penalty last December as part of President Trump’s major tax overhaul which, means the mandate is no longer a tax and therefore is unconstitutional.