President Barack Obama’s plan to make healthcare available to all Americans has received support from the United States Court of Appeals.
A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued a split opinion upholding the lower court’s ruling that found Congress did not overstep its authority in requiring people to have insurance or pay a penalty on their taxes beginning in 2014.
On Tuesday, a primarily conservative appeals court panel said Obama’s healthcare law is indeed constitutional.
The decision comes while the Supreme Court prepares to consider whether to resolve conflicting rulings over the law’s requirement that all Americans buy health insurance this week, University of Wisconsin political science professor Donald Downs said.
Downs, a Badger Herald adviser, said the Affordable Care Act is comprised of two major aspects: trying to control overall costs and providing coverage for those that are not yet covered.
With these goals in mind, the main controversy lies in whether or not mandating a requirement that all Americans must buy health insurance or pay a penalty through the means of higher taxes is constitutional, he said.
“The right to be free from federal regulation is not absolute and yields to the imperative that Congress be free to forge national solutions to national problems,” wrote Justice Laurence Silberman in the majority opinion.
The federal appeals court in Cincinnati also upheld the law; however, the federal appeals court in Atlanta rejected the controversial requirement but upheld the rest of the law. Nevertheless, there has yet to be a definite decision regarding the bill, and it must ultimately be settled by the Supreme Court, Downs said.
Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, which filed the suit in Washington, said the group is considering whether to ask the full appeals court to hear the case or make a request directly to the Supreme Court.
“We still remain confident that Obamacare and the individual mandate, which forces Americans to purchase health insurance, is the wrong prescription for America and ultimately will be struck down as unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court,” Sekulow said.
In a White House statement, Obama adviser Stephanie Cutter said opponents who say the individual mandate provision exceeded Congress’ power to regulate commerce “are simply wrong.” She went on to point out that people who make a decision to forego health insurance do not opt out of the health care market.
Cutter argued in the statement that their actions do not solely affect them but instead are shifted to others – in such cases as when they become ill or injured and cannot pay their bills. $43 billion in unpaid bills in 2008 alone are then the responsibility of doctors, hospitals, insured individuals, taxpayers and even small businesses throughout the nation, she said in the statement.
Regardless, Downs said, many are still not convinced by this argument.
“This does not mark the end of any legal battle over the healthcare act. This is the first time that the courts have had to force people to buy something, and it’s pushing the envelope. There is a 50-50 chance that the law will pass – it is too close to call,” Downs said.
