Court Finds Health Care Mandate Unconstitutional

A federal district court in Virginia has decided that the individual health coverage requirement in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which was to become effective in 2014, is unconstitutional. The law had mandated all individuals to carry health coverage and, if they failed to do so, they would be penalized.

The judge in the case said: “Neither the Supreme Court nor any federal circuit court of appeals has extended Commerce Clause powers to compel an individual to involuntarily enter the stream of commerce by purchasing a commodity in the private market.” He also concluded that the “necessary and proper clause” in the Constitution does not give Congress the power to mandate health coverage.

While the individual mandate was declared unconstitutional, the judge did not strike down the health care law in total. This allows other provisions, such as coverage for children under a parent’s plan until age 27, to stand.

Source: For Commonwealth of Virginia v. Sebelius, No. 10-188 (E.D. Va. Dec. 13, 2010),