In a significant victory for the Biden administration and many Americans who depend on affordable health care, the Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the latest challenge to President Obama’s signature legislation.
The latest challenge stemmed from whether the individual mandate could be cut from the rest of the law or whether the justices should strike down the entire law.
Former President Trump had made it his mission to get rid of the law, which has allowed millions of Americans to afford health care, particularly during the coronavirus pandemic.
The court ruled 7-2, striking down a lower court ruling and noting that Texas and nearly 20 other Republican-led states did not have standing.
The court ruled 7-2, with Justice Stephen Breyer writing for the majority, striking down a lower court ruling, saying the plaintiffs — Texas and 17 other GOP-led states — did not have the standing to sue.
“We conclude that the plaintiffs in this suit failed to show a concrete, particularized injury fairly traceable to the defendants’ conduct in enforcing the specific statutory provision they attack as unconstitutional,” Justice Stephen Breyer wrote. “They have failed to show that they have the standing to attack as unconstitutional the Act’s minimum essential coverage provision. Therefore, we reverse the Fifth Circuit’s judgment in respect to standing, vacate the judgment, and remand the case with instructions to dismiss.
“We do not reach these questions of the Act’s validity … for Texas and the other plaintiffs in this suit lack the standing necessary to raise them,” Breyer wrote.
Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissented.
Reportedly, 31 million Americans have health coverage connected to the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
Also, 54 million people with preexisting conditions are covered because of the health care law.