A federal appeals court in Atlanta, Georgia, has ruled against the federal insurance mandate as laid out by the Affordable Care Act. The ruling from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals is only the second in the nation where judges founding the mandate unconstitutional. This is a major victory for opponents of the health insurance mandate as the ruling will hasten the law to the Supreme Court where its ultimate fate will be decided. Georgia has opposed the concept of a federally imposed health insurance mandate since the law was passed in 2010.
Governor Nathan Deal praised the ruling, hoping that it will bring the law one step closer to dismissal by the Supreme Court. Deal, however, believes that the whole of the law should have been deemed unconstitutional and that the insurance mandate is only part of a much bigger problem. According to Deal, that bigger problem is the rapid excess of power being flaunted by the federal government.
In response to the ruling, the White House issued a statement, in which officials asserted that the insurance mandate was part of the federal government’s use of its quintessential power – that is to regulate interstate commerce. By imposing a mandate that all people should have health insurance, the government’s aim is to ensure that health insurers do not charge more for certain kinds of insurance coverage.
The matter is very likely to be taken up by the Supreme Court in the coming months.