A federal district court in Texas has ruled the entirety of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) unconstitutional. In the ruling, Judge Reed C. O’Connor of the Federal District Court in Fort Worth, TX ruled in favor of the group bringing the case. According to Judge Reed the tax bill passed by Congress in December 2017, which eliminated the individual mandate penalty beginning in 2019, rendered the entire health law unconstitutional.
Appeals are likely and will eventually end up with the Supreme Court at some point.
What does this mean for you? While the future of the ACA is unclear, this ruling does not immediately affect any current ACA compliance regulations. At this time, all existing ACA requirements remain in effect, including penalties for noncompliance.
