On January 6, 2012, AHIP and the Blue Cross Blue Shield
Association filed a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that if the
individual mandate is declared unconstitutional, then the market reforms must
be struck down as well. The brief urges reversal of the 11th Circuit
Court of Appeals’ judgment on severability, which held that the individual
mandate could be removed from the ACA, but that the market reform provisions
could remain in force.
AHIP filed a policy-oriented amicus brief in the US Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit that reiterates our longstanding position that the guarantee issue and community rating provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are inextricably linked to the law’s personal coverage requirement. The decision in the District Court struck down the individual mandate, but left the market reforms in place—a situation which experience in the states has demonstrated would have severe unintended consequences for consumers.