Hotze v. Burwell

The issue before the Fifth Circuit in this case centered on the Origination Clause, and two provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA): the “individual mandate,” which imposed a penalty on non-exempt individuals who lacked qualifying health insurance; and the “employer mandate,” which imposed a tax on certain employers who failed to offer “affordable” health insurance to their employees and their employees’ dependents. The plaintiffs were Steven Hotze, M.D., and his employer, Braidwood Management, Inc. The district court held that the ACA was enacted in conformance with the Origination Clause, and thus dismissed plaintiffs’ complaint on its merits. The Fifth Circuit never reached the merits, and found it unnecessary to address the arguments relating to the Origination Clause. Instead, the Court concluded that the district court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction to entertain the complaint, because Hotze failed adequately to allege an injury that would give him standing to challenge the individual mandate and because Braidwood’s challenge to the employer mandate was barred by the Anti-Injunction Act as a suit seeking to enjoin the collection of a federal tax. Accordingly, the Fifth Circuit vacated the district court’s judgment and remanded this case with instructions to dismiss for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. View "Hotze v. Burwell" on Justia Law