On December 13, a federal judge in Virginia ruled that the “individual mandate” provision in the federal health care reform law is unconstitutional. This provision requires most Americans to purchase health insurance by 2014 or face a penalty. U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson ruled that the government cannot require Americans to purchase health insurance because it exceeds congressional authority granted under the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause.
The ruling is unlikely to immediately affect health care reform since the law’s major provisions do not kick in until 2014 and the law will remain in effect while appeals are heard. According to several media reports, the U.S. Justice Department will appeal the judge’s ruling.
Judge Hudson is the first federal judge to rule against a key federal health care reform provision. Previously, two federal judges in Virginia and Michigan issued decisions upholding the law’s constitutionality, stating that the individual mandate provision was within congressional authority under the Commerce Clause. There is currently a 20-state lawsuit pending in Florida involving Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Washington.
