Supreme Court Ruling - Individual Mandate Upheld as Constitutional

Background

PPACA became law on March 23, 2010. Shortly thereafter, 26 states and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) sued the federal government, claiming that PPACA’s individual mandate provision (which requires all individuals to have "minimum essential" health coverage beginning in 2014 or be subject to a penalty) was unconstitutional.

After three of four federal Courts of appeal upheld the constitutionality of the individual mandate, the litigation ultimately wound its way to the Supreme Court.

 

PPACA Remains the Law of the Land

June 28, 2012

In a 5-4 decision, today the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the constitutionality of the individual mandate provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Accordingly, PPACA’s current health insurance reform provisions will remain in force and we will continue implementing the law, as applicable.

Implications

There will be no impact on implementation of PPACA for employers and plan sponsors, which will need to continue the process of activating the various provisions, including the employer mandate, which will go into effect in 2014.

In addition, there will be no impact on Cigna's existing PPACA compliance and implementation efforts – all of which will continue to be in effect.

Cigna will continue to implement PPACA, assist our stakeholders with compliance and remain actively engaged with lawmakers and other stakeholders. We will continue advocating for a health care delivery system in which every American has quality, affordable health care and maintains continuous health care coverage.

For more information on the Supreme Court decision, please refer to our Supreme Court Ruling Q&A. In addition:

  • Clients and Brokers: please contact your Cigna representative.
  • In-network Health Care Professionals: please call 1.800.88Cigna (882.4462).
  • Individuals/Customers: please call the toll-free number on the back of your ID card. A specially trained group of Customer Service Representatives is ready to answer your questions.
  • Media: please contact Jon Sandberg (Jon.Sandberg@Cigna.com; 860.226.7253) or Phil Mann (Phil.Mann@Cigna.com; 860.226.3729).

For the latest information on health care reform, we encourage you to bookmark our health care reform website, InformedOnReform.com.