It is now official. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case regarding the controversial “Individual Mandate”. Their decision will be the final answer on if that part of the health reform law is constitutional, or unconstitutional. That decision may be announced in June.
The most controversial part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is what has been called the “individual mandate”. This is the part of the health reform law that requires almost every American to purchase health insurance by 2014. Those who choose not to do it will face a financial penalty. The big question, that has been asked in several court cases, is whether or not the “individual mandate” is constitutional, or if it is unconstitutional.
Court cases have gone all the way through the system, and have now reached the Supreme Court. Today, Monday, November 14, 2011, the Supreme Court has announced that they will hear the case regarding the “individual mandate”.
Every court case has two sides. On one side, there is a large group of states who feel that the “individual mandate” is unconstitutional.
Those states are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin, and Wyoming. The state of Florida is leading this group. The National Federation of Business is another key player in the opposing side of this court case.
On the other side, is the Obama Administration, the group that created the health reform laws that make up the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Obviously, they feel that the “individual mandate” is constitutional.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear two major questions regarding this case. It will decide whether or not the “individual mandate”, the key provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, is unconstitutional. If they decide that this part of the law is unconstitutional, then the Supreme Court will decide whether or not the entire law, all 450 sections of it, have to be scrapped.
It is expected that the Supreme Court will hear five and a half hours of oral arguments for this case. They may also make time for other related cases that are pending, and that are related to the case that they are intending to hear. The Supreme court will begin hearing oral arguments in late February of 2011, or in March of 2011.
The final decision made by the Supreme Court will be revealed in June of 2011. This will make it a big issue in the political debate for the upcoming presidential election. No matter which way the Supreme Court decides this case, it will have an effect on all Americans.
Image by Mike Renlund on Flickr