ACA Ruled Unconstitutional – Law Remains in Effect During Appeal

On December 14, 2018, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor issued a ruling that determined the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is unconstitutional. The decision centered around a change to the federal tax law that zeroed out the ACA’s individual mandate penalty beginning January 1, 2019.

The ruling is not an injunction and does not block the operation of the law – so, for now, the ACA remains in effect. An appeal has already been submitted.

On February 14, 2019, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a request from the U.S. House of Representatives to intervene in the ongoing legislation, in defense of the ACA. This is expected to be a long legal process. For more information, please read our December 17 news alert.

We also encourage you to bookmark Cigna's Evolving Health Care Landscape page on www.InformedonReform.com, where we will continue to keep you updated on further developments regarding the status of the ACA.