States ask Supreme Court to review ACA decision

Twenty states and the District of Columbia Friday petitioned the Supreme Court to review this term a recent federal appeals court decision that held the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate unconstitutional. The states are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. The AHA, Federation of American Hospitals, Catholic Health Association of the United States, Association of American Medical Colleges, and America’s Essential Hospitals plan to file a joint brief with the Supreme Court supporting the petition and urging an expedited decision in favor of sustaining the ACA. On Dec. 18, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the ACA’s individual mandate unconstitutional and 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. For more on the appeals court decision, see the AHA’s recent statement.