States cannot be penalized for opting out of Medicaid expansion of Affordable Care Act, Gunster attorney tells Journal

Gunster shareholder Bruce D. Lamb, leader of the firm’s Health Law practice, spoke to the Tampa Bay Business Journal about the recent Supreme Court ruling regarding the Affordable Care Act.

The court recast the individual mandate portion of the Act as a tax in order to find it constitutional, Lamb told staff writer Jane Meinhardt.

Likewise, the court found the Medicaid expansion part of the Act to be constitutional as long as states aren’t penalized for opting out of the expansion, and states can continue to receive their current Medicaid funding.

“It’s not all or nothing,” Lamb said.

Read the entire article: Initially labeling mandate as a tax could have thwarted ACA controversy.

Tags: Bruce D. Lamb