Supreme Court upholds health care law’s individual mandate

Supreme Court upholds health care law’s individual mandate

In a 7-2 decision June 17, the US Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to the Affordable Care Act, saying the states that sued over the law did not have the legal right to do so.

In the case, California v. Texas, the plaintiffs – 18 Republican states and two individuals – argued that the law’s individual mandate requiring nearly all Americans to have insurance was unconstitutional.

Writing for the majority, Justice Stephen Breyer said the plaintiffs did not have standing to bring a suit against the mandate because they could not show an injury stemming from its enforcement.

“The Catholic Health Association of the United States welcomes today’s decision,” said Mercy Sister Mary Haddad, CHA’s CEO and president.

“At a time when 31 million Americans receive health care coverage under ACA exchanges and Medicaid expansions,” she said, “it is time for our nation to redouble our efforts to close the Medicaid gap for the 2.2 million uninsured adults living below the federal poverty level.”