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Crucial part of US health reform act is unconstitutional, says appeal court

BMJ 2011; 343 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d5257 (Published 15 August 2011) Cite this as: BMJ 2011;343:d5257
  1. Janice Hopkins Tanne
  1. 1New York

The US health reform act’s requirement that most citizens buy health insurance is unconstitutional, the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia, has ruled. It said that the rest of the act could stand.

The Atlanta court, which is considered conservative, heard appeals from 26 Republican state governors and attorneys general who oppose health reform.

The requirement for most US citizens to buy health insurance, with subsidies to help those on low incomes, is critical to the success of the legislation, which was passed in March 2010 (BMJ 2010;340:c1635, doi:10.1136/bmj.c1635). …

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