Supreme Court will review ACA case

The Supreme Court today said it will review, during its term beginning in October, a federal appeals court decision that held the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate unconstitutional. 

Twenty states and the District of Columbia petitioned the Supreme Court to quickly review the decision, which sent the case back to the district court in Texas for the judge to take a “careful, granular approach” to determining which of the law's provisions could survive without the mandate.

In January, the AHA — joined by the Federation of American Hospitals, Catholic Health Association of the United States, Association of American Medical Colleges, and America's Essential Hospitals —  filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging the Supreme Court to review the case this term. Thirty-three state hospital associations also filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging the Supreme Court to review the case this term. 

“The 20 million Americans who have gained health insurance under the Affordable Care Act deserve to be secure in their coverage,” said AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack. “While today’s Supreme Court decision to review the challenge to the ACA brings us one step closer to the resolution patients need, these critical coverage gains will remain in unnecessary limbo without expedited review. We strongly urge a prompt decision in favor of the ACA and its protections for patients with pre-existing conditions, expansion of the Medicaid program, creation of new and innovative models of care and many other critical benefits. America’s hospitals and health systems and the patients we serve are ready to put this legal fight behind us – for good.”

For more on the appeals court decision, see the AHA's December statement.