The Washington Report

January 22, 2020
 

Legislative

Impeachment Trial Begins
Congress returned after the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday to focus on the Senate impeachment trial this week.

Judicial

Supreme Court Denies Expedited Review of ACA Constitutionality Case
In a one-sentence order on January 21, 2020, the Supreme Court rejected a request from the House of Representatives asking for an expedited review of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) lawsuit (Texas v. U.S.) questioning the legality of the health care reform law. (A lower court ruled that the ACA’s individual mandate was unconstitutional in December 2019.) By refusing to review the case on a rushed schedule, the Court will not hear the case during the current term ending this June. However, the high court could still decide to review the case in the fall.

The order is available here.

Supreme Court Agrees to Review ACA Birth Control Mandate
On January 17, 2020, the Supreme Court announced it will revisit the contraceptive mandate included in the ACA (Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania, et al.). The provision requires employer-sponsored health plans to provide free contraceptive coverage to employees. The Supreme Court will review whether employers could be provided with a broad religious exemption from the mandate. It is possible that the high court could hear arguments this April and provide a ruling by the end of June.

The order is available here.