A federal district court judge in Richmond, Va., ruled recently that Congress cannot require people to buy health insurance–a key provision of the health care reform law signed by President Barack Obama in March.
U.S. District Court Judge Henry Hudson said the provision of the health care law requiring people to buy insurance in 2014 is unconstitutional because Congress lacked any power to compel an individual to involuntarily engage in a private commercial transaction, as contemplated by the "Minimum Essential Coverage Provision."
This provision "is neither within the letter nor the spirit of the Constitution," Judge Hudson wrote in a 42-page decision.
Recommended For You
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
