Supreme Court of the United States

On November 10, 2020, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in California v. Texas (consolidated with the related case Texas v. California), a constitutional challenge to the Affordable Care Act ’s (ACA’s) individual mandate. The suit also seeks to invalidate the ACA’s many other provisions, which cover a range of issues such as the regulation of private health insurance, changes to public health care programs like Medicaid and Medicare, funding for preventive health care programs, drug regulation, and nutritional content display at restaurants. This Sidebar provides background on the ACA’s individual mandate, including relevant prior litigation, followed by a discussion of the California v. Texas case, including the parties’ arguments in the case. It concludes with some select considerations for Congress.