Federal Update
Vital Signs: March 2012
In late March, the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear
arguments challenging the Patient Protection and Affordable Care
Act. A ruling on the landmark 2010 health law is expected in
June.
Because of the importance of this case, the court said it would
allocate five-and-a-half days for oral arguments, as opposed to the
usual one hour.
The Court is expected to hear arguments on four key issues: the
constitutionality of an individual insurance mandate; whether other
parts of the law can be maintained if the individual mandate is
struck down; the constitutionality of requiring states to expand
their Medicaid benefits or lose their federal Medicaid matching
funds; and whether or not the nation's highest court should rule on
any of the issues at this time, given that the mandate does not go
into effect until 2014.
Options before the court include upholding the law, striking
down the entire law, striking down the most controversial
provisions, or deciding that any decisions at this time are
premature given the 2014 implementation date for key provisions.
The Obama administration maintains that Congress has the authority
"to regulate commerce, levy taxes and enact any necessary and
proper laws," and that without the individual mandate, requirements
banning preexisting conditions and other insurance reforms would
be virtually impossible to implement.
As significant as the Supreme Court's ruling will be this
spring, the outcome of the 2012 presidential and congressional
elections will also be critical. Most leading Republican candidates
have campaigned on promises that, if elected, they intend to
dismantle or even completely repeal the Obama administration's
health care law. If President Obama is elected to a second term in
November, his administration will likely seek to strengthen the law
and to seek the appropriations necessary for its full
implementation.
It seems that the American public is still split on the issue. A
Kaiser Family Foundation poll conducted in January found that 37
percent of Americans have a favorable view of the law and 44
percent unfavorable. Another poll showed 50 percent of respondents
favor keeping or expanding the law, and 40 percent either favor
repealing the law or replacing it with an alternative approach.
- Alex. Calcagno
