In response to a Texas Federal District Court ruling that deemed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) unconstitutional in its entirety, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which had previously asserted that most of the ACA should stand (despite the nullification of the Individual Mandate tax penalty),¹ has reversed their position, agreeing with the District Court that the entire ACA should be struck down.² This change in direction occurred approximately six weeks after William Barr was sworn in as 85^th Attorney General of the U.S.,³ following through on Barr’s mention during his confirmation hearing that he would reconsider the original DOJ position on this matter.⁴ In addition, this reversal was announced right after the California-led coalition released their brief that Congress’s zeroing out of the Individual Mandate penalty did not make the provision unconstitutional, and that the Individual Mandate can still be read as part of Congress’s taxing authority.⁵ Additionally, the coalition argues that even if the Individual Mandate is found unconstitutional, it is severable from the rest of the ACA.⁶

The case is anticipated to be ultimately appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. If the lower court’s is upheld, the millions of individuals that gained insurance through the enactment of the ACA (including through Medicaid Expansion) will effectively lose their coverage, among other detrimental implications.⁷ Currently, the Fifth Circuit, on which the DOJ called to affirm the lower court’s ruling, has not scheduled oral arguments, but the federal government has proposed a hearing date of July 8, 2019.⁸