Obama Care or the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, is an initiative that was put forward by Barak Obama for the betterment of public health. The main objective of this act was to lower the cost of health care by taking all necessary stapes and making insurance more affordable to the public.
Having health insurance was mandatory for everyone as per the rules of this act; otherwise, a tax penalty would be applicable.
Congress had made some major changes to this Obamacare, and currently, President Trump is acting to repeal the act. President Trump has not provided any replacement acts or viable health care insurance policies but did make a campaign promise of providing everybody free insurance.
The federal Appeals Court in New Oreland rules the individual mandate provision to be unlawful late last year. The law was then sent to a lower court to asses if the act could still stand.
On Monday, the Supreme Court will hear an appeal on the constitutionality of Obama care. This case had previously faced challenges in the Supreme Court twice.
Republicans have been attacking Obamacare in courts since 2010, the year which it came out. The act has been scrutinized immensely by the justice system. Currently, the act is facing a lawsuit against it for upholding the law in 2012. This lawsuit is based on the reading of Chief Justice John Roberts’s reasons.
He had stated that the individual mandate fell within the Congress’s power to tax.
Things changed when Trump’s tax reform push resulted in the penalty for not having health insurance becoming $0. It was stated by the republican states that were backed by Trump’s administration’s Department of Justice that individual mandate no longer stands as a tax as the penalty was eliminated.
Trump Administration had argued in court for eliminating the act. In December 2018, Judge Reed O’Connor ruled in favor of Obamacare. He said that the rest of the act was not severable.
And the 5th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals was in favor of O’Connor and agreed that the individual mandate was unconstitutional. But upon review, he suggested that O’Connor should review the matter with a “finer tooth comb” to see which provisions of the act were intended to be inseverable by the congress.
Democratic states and the House of Republicans have filed petitions so that the Supreme Court settles the matter as soon as possible. Both the House of Republicans and Democratic states fear that delaying the matter will cause uncertainty as the battle goes on in lower courts.
Lawmakers have accused the Fifth Circuit of disowning its responsibility, which has therefore caused “an intolerable situation”. This situation is creating confusion amongst the people of America and is also affecting the nation’s economy.
Other petitions that they have made suggest that the uncertainty will carry on for years to come of action is not taken now. Therefore they urge the court to grant review swiftly.
