Last Friday, a three-judge panel at the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the individual mandate portion of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The court sided with the 26 states, led by Florida, which filed suit against the law stating that the federal government did not have the power under the U.S. Constitution to require individuals to purchase health insurance. This case was notable both because it is arguably the most high-profile of all the court challenges to the PPACA, and because it makes the likelihood of a U.S. Supreme Court decision before the 2012 elections all but certain.
In a divided decision, the panel voted 2-1 to rule against the constitutionality of the individual mandate. However, it stopped short of invalidating the law in its entirety, as U.S. District Judge Robert Vinson had done in the previous ruling on this case back in January (click here to read the article). Judge Vinson had struck down the entire law because the PPACA does not contain what is called a “severability clause,” meaning that if one part of the law is invalidated the rest must be as well. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed this portion of Judge Vinson’s ruling citing reasons rooted in both judicial restraint and respect for the separation of powers between the different branches of government.
Most court-watchers believe this latest ruling against the constitutionality of the individual mandate has greatly increased the chances of the U.S. Supreme Court taking up a case on this issue in its next term, which begins this October and ends in June 2012. This is because two appellate courts have now ruled in opposite directions on the constitutionality of the law, since the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to uphold the law in June (click here to read the article). Also, since the Obama Administration lost this particular case, it is up to them to file an appeal. Most believe the Supreme Court would be loath to turn away the Administration in a case as high profile and wide in scope as this one.
The next appellate court ruling will likely be from the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, which was filed by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and heard oral arguments on May 10. Please stay tuned to future issues of IN&V for further updates on this important issue.
Ryan Young (ryan.young@iiaba.net) is Big “I” senior director of federal government affairs.