December 24 Update: Texas v. Azar; Preliminary Enrollment Numbers; Agenda for Advancing Health Equity; Top Resources of 2018
Even though the end of the year is near, last week was not a slow news week. Late Friday the 14th, a federal district judge in Texas issued a highly anticipated decision in Texas v. Azar, ruling that the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) individual mandate to maintain health coverage is unconstitutional, and as a result the entire ACA is unconstitutional. Despite the ruling, the ACA is still the law of the land and most legal experts agree that this is only the first step in what is likely to be a long legal road that may end in the Supreme Court; consumers should be assured that if they enroll now they will have coverage in 2019. Heather Howard answers some burning questions related to the ruling and its implications in the latest Woodrow Wilson School Reacts post.