On Friday, December 14, 2018 United States District Judge Reed O’Connor issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order in Texas vs. the United States.
Texas along with 19 other states filed suit earlier in 2018 arguing that since the Individual Mandate penalty was reduced to $0 by Congress in the 2017 tax reform bill, it was no longer a tax and thus unconstitutional. Further, they argued, the rest of ACA was dependent on the mandate and thus also subject to be thrown out.
Judge O’Connor agreed with Texas in his 55-page ruling which concluded: “the Court … declares the Individual Mandate UNCONSTITUTIONAL. Further, the Court declares the remaining provisions of the ACA, Pub. L. 111-148, are INSEVERABLE and therefore INVALID.”
Read full ruling: https://goo.gl/MR4c6Z
Report from the Hill: https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/421511-federal-judge-in-texas-strikes-down-obamacare
