A federal court of appeals last night ruled that the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate was unconstitutional but did not invalidate the entire law, Mizuho analyst Ann Hynes tells investors in a research note. The federal court also ordered a lower court judge to reconsider whether or not the law can survive without the individual mandate. This will likely keep the case in the lower courts in 2020 and probably not reach the Supreme Court until after the 2020 Presidential elections, adds the analyst. She thinks this outcome is better than the worst-case-scenario that the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals would find the entire law unconstitutional. As a result, Hynes views the ruling as a non-event for the hospital group. She keeps Buy ratings on HCA Healthcare, Tenet Healthcare (THC) and Universal Health Services (UHS).