Pennsylvania U.S. District Court Rules Individual Mandate Unconstitutional

 

September 19, 2011

On September 14, 2011, a Pennsylvania U.S. District Court ruled that the individual mandate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is unconstitutional. The Court also concluded that the law’s guaranteed issue and pre-existing condition were also invalidated, but that the remaining provisions were valid.

The suit was brought by a married couple who had previously discontinued their health care coverage because of the expense, and preferred to pay for their own health care.

Similar challenges to PPACA’s individual mandate have already been decided on appeal. The Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati upheld the individual mandate; the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta found the individual mandate unconstitutional, and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond dismissed two challenges on procedural grounds.

This issue is expected to eventually be decided by the Supreme Court.

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