11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Rules PPACA’s Mandate to Purchase Health Insurance Unconstitutional — First Time Democratic Judge to Agree
MyHealthGuide Source:
- Todd Leeuwenburgh, Thompson Blog on HR and Benefits, 8/12/2011, http://smarthr.blogs.thompson.com/
- Brent Kendall, Wall Street Journal, 8/13/2011, www.WSJ.com
“The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling that forcing Americans to purchase health insurance, a key element of the 2010 health reform law, is unconstitutional. The court however allowed the rest of the law stand (including preventive care, dependent care and preexisting condition mandates), overturning the lower court on that,” writes Todd Leeuwenburgh, Thompson Blog on HR and Benefits.“Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi welcomed the ruling: ‘Today we have prevailed in preventing Congress from infringing on the individual liberty protected by the U.S. Constitution. The ruling by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals upholds our position that the federal health care law exceeds Congress’ power.’”
“Friday’s 207-page opinion and 84-page dissent made clear that views of the Obama administration’s signature law have increasingly hardened in place as voices from each side roll out familiar arguments and precedents to buttress their opposite conclusions.” writes Brent Kendall, Wall Street Journal, on August 13, 2011.
Kendall continues, “The opinion, jointly written by judges Joel Dubina and Frank Hull, said Congress had broad power to deal with the problems of the uninsured, “but what Congress cannot do…is mandate that individuals enter into contracts with private insurance companies for the purchase of an expensive product from the time they are born until the time they die.”
“The court also raised federalism concerns, saying the mandate intruded on health-insurance matters traditionally a concern for the states.
“The ruling marked the first time a Democratic-appointed judge has found part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act unconstitutional. Judge Hull was appointed by Bill Clinton, while Judge Dubina was a George H.W. Bush appointee.
“The decision affirmed part of a January ruling by U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson of Florida, who ruled the health-insurance mandate unconstitutional.
Strike Down All PPACA Or Just Non-Constitutional Portions
The 11th Circuit, however, overruled Judge Vinson on a key point: whether the entire law must be struck down or only the individual-mandate part. Judge Vinson voided the entire law, but the Atlanta appellate judges said other provisions should remain “legally operative.”
Should the Supreme Court adopt that reasoning on “severability”–leaving the law in place except for the mandate–it could throw the health-insurance market into turmoil. That’s because other parts of the law require health insurers to accept all prospective customers, even those who are already ill. In the drafting of the legislation, insurers were willing to accept the provision only if they were guaranteed an influx of millions of new customers through the coverage mandate.
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