Health Care Reform: Supreme Court Begins 3 Day Review of Affordable Care Act Mandate, 10 Things To Know
The Supreme Court will begin a three-day review of the Affordable Care Act, known to some as either the health care reform or Obamacare, on Monday, which will go down in history as a landmark case, perhaps the most monumental in more than a decade.
Justices will decide whether the mandate, which would the reguire all Americans to purchase insurance or be penalized, for the 2010 Affordable Care Act is constitutional or not. An individual mandate requiring Americans to buy health care or pay a penalty would extend coverage to the 30 million uninsured currently, which is integral to the agenda of the Obama administration.
Along with the mandate, the Supreme Court will examine the Obama administration health care reform in totality, from the future of the law if the mandate is deemed unconstitutional, the expansion of Medicaid in the states and how the mandate pertains to the Tax Anti-Injunction Act of 1867.
Here are 10 things to know about the landmark Affordable Care Act case.
1. President Barack Obama signed the legislation into law on March 23, 2010.
2. Lawsuits were filed against the law the same day the legislation was passed. In total 26 states and the National Federation of Independent Business have filed lawsuits that the mandate is unconstitutional.
3. The Supreme Court will review six hours of oral arguments over three days, the most allotted time the nine justices have dedicated to any case since 1966, beginning each day at 10 a.m.
4. Monday's 90 minutes will be dedicated to a tax law called the Anti-Injunction Act, which was established in 1867. The tax law, which prevents challenging a tax law until it has been paid, could delay a ruling from the Court until after 2014, when the first tax is levied on someone.
5. The Supreme Court will focus on whether or not the individual mandate for all Americans to buy an insurance plan is constitutional under the Constitution's Commerce Clause on Tuesday for two hours.
6. Wednesday will total two and a half hours, with the first half focused on the Affordable Care Act if the individual mandate is ruled unconstitutional, whether the mandate is severable. According to the Obama administration, if the mandate is dubbed unconstitutional, the law will be ineffective for those with pre-existing medical conditions, as the legislation lifts a ban to deny those coverage, while opposers believe the law should be thrown out if the mandate is ruled unconstitutional. In addition, 90 minutes will be dedicated to the role of Congress within the expansion of Medicaid in individual states.
7. Attorneys Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli, President Barack Obama's chief Supreme Court lawyer and Paul D. Clement, a solicitor general under President George W. Bush, will argue both sides of the case.
8. Cameras for the three day review have been barred by the Supreme Court. However, the Court will provide audio recordings and transcripts of the oral arguments on the Supreme Court website.
9. The ruling will be announced in June.
10. The mandate, if ruled constitutional, will go into effect in 2014.
© Copyright IBTimes 2024. All rights reserved.