General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Michael Moore: ACA is both "awful" and "a godsend" [View all]pnwmom
(110,265 posts)It was the Supreme Court that made that decision, not the legislators who never expected the bill to be interpreted that way.
http://kff.org/health-reform/issue-brief/a-guide-to-the-supreme-courts-decision/
On June 28, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in the case challenging the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Court upheld the constitutionality of the ACAs individual mandate, which requires most people to maintain a minimum level of health insurance coverage beginning in 2014. A majority of the Court also found the ACAs Medicaid expansion unconstitutionally coercive of states, while a different majority of the Court held that this issue was fully remedied by limiting the Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretarys enforcement authority. The ruling left the ACAs Medicaid expansion intact in the law, but the practical effect of the Courts decision makes the Medicaid expansion optional for states.