Federal Court Upholds Health Care Reform; Conservative Judge Casts Deciding Ruling

Ariela Fleisig — June 29, 2011 – 4:56 pm | Barack Obama | Health Care Comments (0) Add a comment

The 6^th Circuit Court of Appeals today upheld the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that most Americans buy health insurance. This monumental decision affirms the Affordable Care Act’s constitutionality and represents a major setback for those challenging the legality of President Barack Obama’s health care reform package.

President George W. Bush’s appointee and states’ rights champion Judge Jeffrey Sutton voted with the 2-1 majority in favor of the law. Ian Millhiser wrote for Think Progress:

The case against the Affordable Care Act is so weak that one of the court of appeals’ most conservative judges - a judge who devoted much of his life to shrinking federal power - just rejected it. Now would be a good time for the nation to collectively stop pretending that these lawsuits have any merit whatsoever.

Sutton, one of two conservative-appointed judges on the 6^th Circuit Court of Appeals, was the first Republican-nominated judge to vote in favor of keeping this requirement. In his written opinion, Sutton stated:

No matter how you slice the relevant market-as obtaining health care, as paying for health care, as insuring for health care-all of these activities affect interstate commerce, in a substantial way.

Democratic-nominated Judge Boyce F. Martin Jr., who also voted to uphold the requirement, wrote:

Although there is no firm, constitutional bar that prohibits Congress from placing regulations on what could be described as inactivity, even if there were it would not impact this case due to the unique aspects of health care that make all individuals active in this market.

In an article on the subject, Politico’s Jennifer Haberkorn wrote:

The court also agreed with the federal government that Congress had reason to think that allowing people to go uninsured would allow for ‘free riders’ to take advantage of the system - and other taxpayers.

The panel upheld the verdict of a lower court lawsuit brought by the conservative Thomas More Law Center.

Click here to read Millhiser’s full article.

Click here to read Haberkorn’s full article.

 

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