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1 1 (June 21, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govedsl0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional ______ *.Research Service ~~~ ~~Informing the egislative debate since 1914___________________ Supreme Court Dismisses Challenge to the Affordable Care Act in California v. Texas Updated June 21, 2021 On June 17, 2021, the Supreme Court issued its decision in California v. Texas, one of the most closely watched cases of this term. At stake in California was the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's (ACA's) requirement for individuals to maintain health insurance (known as the individual mandate) and the continued validity of the remainder of the comprehensive Act. In a 7-2 decision, the Court dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue. The Court did not reach the merits of the challenge, thereby leaving the ACA intact. This Sidebar provides background on the California case, examines the Court's decision, and concludes with selected legal considerations for Congress. Background Enacted in 2010, one of the ACA's primary goals was to increase the number and share of Americans who are insured. In addition to providing income-based subsidies to facilitate the purchase of health insurance and increasing the scope of Medicaid coverage, the ACA, as originally enacted, also imposed financial penalties on large employers that did not offer coverage to their employees and on certain individuals who did not purchase or enroll in such coverage. This latter provision, commonly referred to as the individual mandate, required certain individuals to maintain minimum levels of health insurance and imposed financial penalties enforced as a tax on those who failed to comply. In addition, the ACA included numerous other provisions that addressed a wide array of issues, ranging from health care workforce promotion to improving access to innovative medical therapies. Referenced by some commentators as the most challenged statute in American history, the ACA was passed after a contentious legislative process and became the subject of numerous legal challenges soon after its enactment. Many of the early constitutional challenges to the ACA were put to rest by the Supreme Court's 2012 decision in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (NFIB), a major ruling on the individual mandate and other key provisions of the Act. In NFIB, Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the Court's majority, concluded that the individual mandate could reasonably be characterized as a valid exercise of Congress's power to levy taxes, given that the penalty possessed the essential feature of any tax: it produces at least some revenue for the Government. Because the Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB10610 CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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