Posted on 08/12/2011 10:43:48 AM PDT by americanophile
(Reuters) - An appeals court ruled on Friday that President Barack Obama's healthcare law requiring Americans to buy healthcare insurance or face a penalty was unconstitutional, a blow to the White House.
The Appeals Court for the 11th Circuit, based in Atlanta, found that Congress exceeded its authority by requiring Americans to buy coverage, but also ruled that the rest of the wide-ranging law could remain in effect.
The legality of the so-called individual mandate, a cornerstone of the healthcare law, is widely expected to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Obama administration has defended the provision as constitutional.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Yes, that’s a self-reinforcing proposition; it’s legal because the government does it. We’re so far afield of the Constitution, it’s hardly recognizable.
Mrs. Prince of Space
Did you see the Pelican Brief?
HAHAHAHA!!!!!!
SS and Medicare laws were funded by new taxes, written as taxes within the taxing authority of congress.
The Obamination mandate was a regulatory fine, buy it or pay a fine, not a tax so not covered by congresses taxing authority. So they tried to put lipstick on the pig and claim it was covered by the commerce clauses regulatory power.
There are a lot of lawyers in Congress and the guy in the oval office allegedly lectured on constitutional law... no doubt he had hoped to pack the court before this gets there.
Such good news deserves a happy dance!
The decenter, Stanley Marcus, is a Clinton appointee to the circuit court but originally put on the federal bench by Reagan.
Love it !
We need a format that brings a thread back to the top when a new comment is made. This keeps hot topics hot, and let's exhausted threads work there way down naturally. Also eliminates duplicate threads.
Not criticizing...just sayin'.
We already have that...use the tabs.
The individual mandate, however, can be severed from the remainder of the Acts myriad reforms. The presumption of severability is rooted in notions of judicial restraint and respect for the separation of powers in our constitutional system. The Acts other provisions remain legally operative after the mandates excision, and the high burden needed under Supreme Court precedent to rebut the presumption of severability has not been met.
I hate seeing this. At best we won a pyrrhic victory. If the rest of the law is enacted insurance co.'s will go broke and we will end up with the govt running healthcare.
Yes!
No pre-existing conditions can be excluded and no special rates can be charged. I for one feel no loyalty to the insurance companies that climbed in bed with obama and if this law goes into effect I'll drop my coverage and pay for my annual physical myself.
The remaining parts stay in effect. IOW, no pre-existing conditions exclusions, no special rates and a broad range of automatic coverage. The insurance co.'s will go broke and the govt will end up running healthcare in this country.
FWIW, the opinion was written by a Clinton appointee.
I personally think that since the mandate was central to the legislation and in fact is the fundamental lynchpin, I don't see how the rest of it can be constitutionally implemented.
The states were suing on this one. The mandate was actually favored by the Insurance companies as this was going to ultimately be a full employment bill for health carriers (not doctors).
With the mandate gone and the rest of the legislation intact, the insurance companies will be screaming bloody murder. They will file their own lawsuits, and speaking as an insurance defense attorney, these insurance companies have armies of lawyers.
The remaining parts stay in effect. IOW, no pre-existing conditions exclusions, no special rates and a broad range of automatic coverage. The insurance co.’s will go broke and the govt will end up running healthcare in this country.
##
Not at all. Congress has the right to pass the other laws. However, Congress intentionally took out the severability clause. This means that if any part of the law is voided the whole law is voided.
The only way around that is for the Courts to go against the clear intent of Congress.
Absolutely true. But in our system when you get sick or hurt you go to the hospital and they need to treat you until released - by law. If this person has no coverage or refuses to pay, then the cost is born by other payers into the system. Add in some cost shift because government programs refuse to pay the true cost of service and you have a system that is in crisis.
Let hospitals refuse patients? Sure, until the 5PM news shows someone dieing because they did not have the right card or insurance policy.
If you want to demand the health care delivery system treat anyone, then a mandate is the only option. Just like so much in the US right now, we want our stuff, but don't want to pay for it.
schu
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