A judge in a Pennsylvania federal district court has ruled the individual mandate unconstitutional and struck it, and several other provisions, from the healthcare reform law, according to a report by The Hill.
Judge Christopher Conner's ruling is unique because he also struck provisions that require insurance companies to cover everyone who wants to buy a policy and prohibit discriminating those with preexisting conditions, according to the report. He is the first to recognize that the three provisions work together and deemed them inseparable by law; requiring the healthy to join the risk pool allows insurance companies to cover the sick by bringing down relative cost.
However, the ruling has limited impact because three federal appeals courts have already considered similar cases, according a Bloomberg Businessweek report. In June, three-judge panel in Cincinnati upheld the law, while one in Atlanta voted to strike the mandate in August. Earlier this month, the federal appeals court in Richmond, Va., dismissed an appeal by the Virginia Attorney General regarding his case, saying the case lacked legal grounds because the individual mandate does not impose any obligations on the state itself.
The case ruled on by Judge Conner was brought by plaintiffs Barbara Goudy-Bachman and Gregory Bachman, a married couple with two children, who are self-employed and do not carry health insurance.
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Judge Christopher Conner's ruling is unique because he also struck provisions that require insurance companies to cover everyone who wants to buy a policy and prohibit discriminating those with preexisting conditions, according to the report. He is the first to recognize that the three provisions work together and deemed them inseparable by law; requiring the healthy to join the risk pool allows insurance companies to cover the sick by bringing down relative cost.
However, the ruling has limited impact because three federal appeals courts have already considered similar cases, according a Bloomberg Businessweek report. In June, three-judge panel in Cincinnati upheld the law, while one in Atlanta voted to strike the mandate in August. Earlier this month, the federal appeals court in Richmond, Va., dismissed an appeal by the Virginia Attorney General regarding his case, saying the case lacked legal grounds because the individual mandate does not impose any obligations on the state itself.
The case ruled on by Judge Conner was brought by plaintiffs Barbara Goudy-Bachman and Gregory Bachman, a married couple with two children, who are self-employed and do not carry health insurance.
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