PPACA Goes to Court
Several states are suing the federal government over the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
What’s it all mean? Here’s the latest . . .
Virginia’s Suit
Late last week, lawyers in Virginia argued the first such case to hit the courtroom. More than twenty other states are pursuing similar suits.
“It is our position that the individual mandate is unconstitutionally overbroad under the commerce clause,” said Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. “You cannot compel someone to buy something from someone else.”
As currently drafted, PPACA requires individuals to either buy health insurance or pay a penalty.
Florida Sues, Too
The largest suit is one led by Florida and joined by nineteen other states.
A lawyer representing Florida called PPACA “an unbelievable, unprecedented, utterly arrogant exertion of congressional power.” The lawsuit alleges that by enacting PPACA the federal government (1) exceeded its authority to direct state action and (2) misused the Commerce Clause of the Constitution by imposing an unfunded mandate.
The Federal Government’s View
Rob Weiner of the U.S. Justice Department sees things a bit differently than the states. “Congress is appropriating billions of dollars that it’s providing to the states for Medicaid and it’s entitled to attach conditions to the billions of dollars it provides.” He added: “This is a very important piece of legislation, but it is not an extraordinary exercise of congressional power.”
What’s Next?
The judge in the Virginia case indicated that he intends to issue his initial ruling in the next few weeks. Initial arguments in the Florida suit are scheduled for September.
Given the timing, rulings in the cases could have a significant effect on the November elections. Ultimately, however, these cases will probably end up on the U.S. Supreme Court’s docket in the not-so-distant future.
Stay tuned to see how this plays out. For more, click here.