Austin attorney Robert Henneke hopes a new health care landscape emerges in the ashes of the Affordable Care Act, if an appellate court affirms that the law is unconstitutional.

Henneke is the attorney for two Texans who, along with a coalition of red states led by Texas, won a lawsuit in 2018 that challenged the individual mandate to purchase health insurance. He said the act mostly benefited health insurance companies, which drive up the costs of health are. Instead, Henneke has a vision of people having direct relationships with doctors, paying out-of-pocket for ordinary care, with health insurance in place only to protect against major health catastrophes.

"We have to get away from looking for a global, one-size-fits-all solution. That's just not feasible with a nation of our size, and a nation as diverse as we are," said Henneke.

Henneke's role in the litigation, Texas v. United States, made an impact on the outcome of U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas ruling in December 2018 that the entire act became unconstitutional after the U.S. Congress in 2017 eliminated the tax penalty that people used to pay for violating the act's individual mandate.

Henneke said he saw traces in the opinion of his own arguments that his two individual clients had standing to sue, and about the harm they faced from the Affordable Care Act.

"It's a really expensive product that doesn't allow them to see the doctor they want or get the treatment when they want to. It's a significant impact on their budget," Henneke said.

Since 2015, Henneke has been the general counsel of The Center for the American Future in Austin. The center uses litigation to challenge "government overreach" and "federal abuse" regarding environmental policy, private property rights and business autonomy, according to its website. The center is the litigation division of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a research nonprofit that bills itself as nonpartisan, but tends to work towards conservative causes: to promote and defend liberty, personal responsibility and free enterprise, said its website.

After earning his law degree in 2004 from the University of Texas School of Law, Henneke launched his legal career as an assistant attorney general in the Texas Office of the Attorney General's general litigation division from 2004 to 2007.

Next, he and his wife moved to the Texas Hill Country town of Kerrville, Henneke's hometown, to begin their family. There, Henneke operated a general practice solo shop from 2007 to 2010. Then the Kerr County Attorney's Office became vacant, and he ran as a Republican and won the office. In 2014, Henneke resigned to run for a state representative seat, but he lost in the Republican primary, and therefore took a job in private practice at Cain & Skarnulis in Austin.

One day, he saw a job opening at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, which wanted to create a litigation center.

"This opportunity spoke to me because of the potential to combine interests in law and policy and to be effective in advancing both," he said.

The Affordable Care Act case is Henneke's largest impact to date. He's also challenged the city of Austin's regulations on short-term rentals through HomeAway and Airbnb. Another case attacked the way the Endangered Species Act regulated a cave spider in central Texas, and another challenged how the Army Corps of Engineer's determined that the Clean Water Act applied to an Illinois homeowner's property.

Henneke said his work fascinates him because it puts the clash in the courts to decide the proper role of government.

"I believe in limited government and enforcing the framework of the constitution, and empowering individuals to have the freedoms supposed to be guaranteed in our laws—that seem to be more and more under attack by the expansion of the administrative state and unchecked power at the state, local and federal government levels," he said.

An awards ceremony will be held on Sept. 18 at the Belo Mansion in Dallas. The Attorney of the Year award winner will be announced at the ceremony.

Click here for booking information. For information about sponsoring the event, contact Andre Sutton at 757-721-9020 or email [email protected].