Supreme Court upholds ObamaCare for 3rd time but 'sidesteps' case's larger questions


In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court struck down a third challenge to the Affordable Care Act on Thursday, likely securing the law's protections for more than 20 million Americans, The New York Times and NBC News report.
18 conservative states, led by Texas, levied the latest battle in the war against ObamaCare, arguing the elimination of the individual health insurance mandate in 2017 rendered the entire legislation unconstitutional. The majority-conservative court ruled on Wednesday that the plaintiffs lack standing to challenge the law because "they have not shown an injury traceable to the enforcement of the provision they claimed is unconstitutional," NBC News writes.
Such an opinion, however, "[sidesteps] the larger issue in the case" — whether the law holds up without the individual mandate, the Times adds.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Justice Samuel Alito penned the dissent on behalf of himself and Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing that the "third installment in our epic Affordable Care Act trilogy" allows a "tax that does not tax to stand and support one of the biggest Government programs in our Nation's history." Therefore, he must "respectfully dissent."
A majority ruling against Obamacare could have "doomed" protections for young adults still on their parent's insurance, those who lost their jobs due to COVID-19, and those with pre-existing conditions, among others, per the Times.
Read more at The New York Times and NBC News.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year high
Speed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, change
Speed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panel
speed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kids
Speed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sick
speed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last year
speed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
-
Trump seeks to cut drug prices via executive order
speed read The president's order tells pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, but it will likely be thrown out by the courts
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measles
Speed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths