Federal appeals court Judge Amy Coney Barrett signaled that the ACA could remain law even without its since-repealed individual mandate that required most Americans to buy insurance or face a tax penalty, according to The Hill.
During the third day of Ms. Barrett's Supreme Court confirmation hearings Oct. 14, Senate Judiciary Committee leaders asked Ms. Barrett about an upcoming case regarding the ACA that the Supreme Court is set to hear Nov. 10. The White House has supported the stance that the entire ACA is invalid because Congress eliminated the ACA's tax penalty for failing to purchase health insurance in 2017.
While Ms. Barrett didn't reveal how she would rule in the case, she said usually judges try to keep underlying laws intact when weighing if part of the law should be removed, according to The Hill. The stance is at odds with the White House-backed lawsuit, which says the entire ACA is invalid because of the individual mandate repeal.
During her previous testimony Oct. 13, Ms. Barrett said, "I am not hostile to the ACA." She added that the issue of the Nov. 10 case is "severability, and that's not something that I have ever talked about with respect to the Affordable Care Act. Honestly, I haven't written anything about severability that I know of at all."
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