As the Supreme Court begins its new term today, speculation begins in earnest about how the high court might rule on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.
The Obama administration recently filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to review a lower court decision on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta had struck down the law’s requirement that individuals have insurance, because it violated the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. The appeals court decision would allow the rest of the Affordable Care Act to go forward.
Courtesy Wikimedia Commons/Duncan Lock/GNU Free Documentation License
Supporters of the Affordable Care Act aren’t the only ones looking to get the Supreme Court involved. A coalition of 26 states that is challenging the law has also petitioned the high court to review the decision of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Those states want the Supreme Court to throw the health law completely.
The Supreme Court justices haven’t officially decided whether they will review the Affordable Care Act. But if they do take on the case, their decision is likely to come in the middle of the 2012 presidential campaign.
Hear more about the legal wrangling in the Oct. 3 edition of Policy & Practice podcast. This week’s podcast also includes new figures on rising health insurance premiums and the latest on a proposal from the Department of Health and Human Services to offer bonus payments to primary care physicians who spend more time with patients and provide intensive disease management.
Join us next week to hear how physicians are trying to influence the deliberations of the Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction.
— Mary Ellen Schneider (@MaryEllenNY)
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