Texas, Alabama, Arizona et al., Respondents
Kyle D. Hawkins, Counsel of Record
In 2010, a Democratic-controlled U.S. Congress passed the Affordable Care Act, which provided reforms and regulations of the nation’s health insurance system. Among the changes were requirements for private insurers to cover preexisting medical conditions and charge all customers the same rates regardless of age, sex or other factors. To make these requirements financially feasible for insurers by expanding the pool of healthy customers, Congress added a requirement that all Americans obtain health insurance or pay a penalty. In December 2017, a Republican majority in the U.S. Congress set that penalty, which had been held to be a valid tax by the U.S. Supreme Court, to zero. The move …
