PIERRE, S.D. – Attorney General Marty Jackley announced today that the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in a 304 page decision has ruled that the Federal Health-Care Individual Mandate is unconstitutional.
“Both the federal trial court and appellate court have now ruled that Congress has exceeded its authority with this unprecedented mandate requiring all individuals to purchase health insurance. Today’s ruling is a significant victory for state and individual rights,” said Jackley.
Because the Court severed the mandate from the rest of the Act, there remain further issues to be addressed by Congress or the United States Supreme Court.
On March 23, 2010, South Dakota joined Florida and 12 other states in the lawsuit. The multi-state litigation challenging the Health-Care Reform Act has now expanded to 26 states plus the assistance of Virginia. In January, the U.S. Federal Court ruled that the Health-Care Reform Act was unconstitutional.
As stated by the Appellate Court "What Congress cannot do under the Commerce Clause is mandate that individuals enter into contracts with private insurance companies for the purchase of an expensive product from the time they are born until the time they die.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : Friday, August 12, 2011
CONTACT: Sara Rabern, (605) 773-3215
