A U.S. appeals court in Cincinnati upheld the individual mandate of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on Wednesday. The ruling was the first to address the constitutionality of the healthcare reform act's requirement that everyone purchase health insurance or be penalized.
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The suit was brought by public interest law firm, the Thomas More Law Center, and four individuals. They sought a ruling, which would have declared that Congress did not have the authority under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution to require individuals to purchase health insurance and that the penalty for not purchasing health insurance was an unconstitutional tax.
A district court had ruled that Congress did have the authority under the Commerce Clause. The appeals court affirmed the district court's opinion, saying "Congress had a rational basis for concluding that the minimum coverage requirement is essential to its broader reforms to the national markets in healthcare delivery and health insurance. Therefore, the minimum coverage provision is a valid exercise of the Commerce Clause power."
Robert Muise, the lawyer arguing the case for the Thomas More Law Center, told Bloomberg that the law center will take its case to the U.S. Supreme Court and plans on filing its petition for review as soon as possible.