Wednesday April 7, 2010
U.S. Medical Society Sues to Overturn ObamaCare
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 7, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) has filed a lawsuit against the newly enacted health care bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), making them the first U.S. medical society to take legal action against the sweeping health care overhaul.
The AAPS filed suit March 26 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
“If the PPACA goes unchallenged, then it spells the end of freedom in medicine as we know it,” said Jane Orient, M.D., the Executive Director of AAPS. “Courts should not allow this massive intrusion into the practice of medicine and the rights of patients.”
“There will be a dire shortage of physicians if the PPACA becomes effective and is not overturned by the courts.”
The PPACA requires most Americans to buy government-approved insurance starting in 2014, or face stiff penalties. Critics say that insurance company executives will be enriched by the requirement, and that it violates the Fifth Amendment protection against the government, forcing one person to pay cash to another.
AAPS also claims the PPACA violates the Tenth Amendment, the Commerce Clause, and Constitutional provisions authorizing taxation. It argues the Constitution’s Taxing and Spending power cannot be invoked since the premiums go to private insurance companies. Also, it says the traditional sovereignty of the States over the practice of medicine is destroyed by the PPACA.
AAPS notes that in scoring the proposal the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) was bound by assumptions imposed by Congress, including the ability to “save” $500 billion in Medicare, and to redirect $50 billion from Social Security. HHS Secretary Sebelius stated that PPACA would reduce the federal deficit.
The medical association says it is asking the Court to stop the federal government from promulgating or enforcing insurance mandates and to require HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue to provide the Court with an accounting of Medicare and Social Security solvency.
According to AAPS Congress recognized that PPACA cannot be funded without the mandate for every American to have health insurance, and will become unenforceable without them.
Legal action is necessary “to preserve individual liberty” and “to prevent PPACA from bankrupting the United States generally and Medicare and Social Security specifically,” AAPS stated.
The AAPS complaint and more information about the suit are posted here.