Yesterday, the federal government announced that the federal government will not provide 100% funding for states that do not participate in the full Medicaid expansion contained in PPACA, as described by the Washington Post. Partial expansions will be permitted but will only receive matching federal money at the existing rate, at least for 2014-2017. As we … Continue Reading
After a quiet fall, one of the lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of PPACA has new life. In a brief order, the U.S. Supreme Court has sent the Liberty University v. Geitner case to be heard again by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals out of Richmond, Virginia. As the AP mentioned in its piece run by the Washington … Continue Reading
The decision we’ve all been waiting for is in — the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the statute commonly known as the individual insurance mandate (everyone must have minimum health insurance coverage or pay a penalty) is constitutional under Congress’ taxing power. Because the individual mandate was upheld, the rest of the Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”) has also survived. The … Continue Reading
Well, this was a big week for the PPACA lawsuits, with multiple filings in the Supreme Court. These quick moves seem designed to get the case heard this term, which means a decision would come out by June 2012 and be fodder for the November 2012 presidential elections. It remains to be seen whether that decision upholds PPACA, … Continue Reading
Today, the Eleventh Circuit issued a whopping 300-page opinion holding PPACA’s individual insurance mandate unconstitutional, in Florida v. HHS, siding with the numerous States that filed or have since joined the case. This is directly contrary to the Sixth Circuit’s June 26 decision in the Thomas Moore case, holding that the statute was constitutional. Notably, both courts delivered divided 2-1 opinions. … Continue Reading
On Monday, the United States Supreme Court rejected the request by Virginia that the Court accept immediate review of whether PPACA is constitutional, without waiting for the case to go through the usual intermediate appeals process. Virginia had argued that the case will eventually be resolved by the US Supreme Court in any event, so the Court … Continue Reading
In a lengthy decision in Florida v. DHHS yesterday, a judge in Florida ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, including 26 state attorneys general, that all provisions of PPACA are unconstitutional, as they exceed Congress’ authority. First, the court decided that the individual insurance mandate went beyond the appropriate scope of Congress’ power to regulate interstate commerce. The … Continue Reading
The constitutional challenges to PPACA keep coming in. So far, the tally is two decisions for and two against. Two decisions are currently on appeal, and the most recent decision will likely be headed to the appellate courts soon. The decisions in favor of PPACA: As reported earlier here and at SSD’s Sixth Circuit blog, in … Continue Reading
We are beginning to see action (and divergent results) on the various court challenges to PPACA, starting with two recent decisions. As explained in SSD’s Sixth Circuit Blog, the federal court for the Western District of Michigan dismissed the case of Thomas More Law Center, et al. v. Obama (E.D. Mich., Case No. 10-CV-11156) (PDF) that challenged whether Congress has authority … Continue Reading
The Bond Buyer’s 501(c)3 Super Conference was held on September 20, 2010 at the Hilton New York in New York City. This year’s event brought together investors, finance professionals and executives from hospitals, health systems, academic medical centers, higher education institutions, performing arts centers, rating agencies and finance firms from across the country to network … Continue Reading
