health care reform

Pew: Supreme Court Hearings On Health Care Reform Harmed Perceptions Of The Court, Law

Kyle Leighton | April 2, 2012, 3:11PM

A new Pew poll shows that perceptions of both the Supreme Court and President Obama's signature health care reform law were harmed by the oral arguments at the high court last week.

"While most Americans say last week's Supreme Court hearings on the 2010 health care law did not change their views of the law or of the Court, they did more harm than good to the image of both," Pew wrote in their analysis.

Pew interviewed 1,000 Americans after the hearings on the law's consitutionality last week, finding that they were three times more likely to have soured on both the law and the court itself. Only seven percent of Americans polled said their favorability of the health care reform law increased, while 23 percent said they see it more unfavorably after the hearings. The Court was in the same boat -- seven percent said it improved their view, while 21 percent said the opposite.

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Supreme Court

Justices Skeptical That Health Care Mandate Is A 'Tax'

Sahil Kapur | March 26, 2012, 12:49PM

The Supreme Court kicked off oral arguments over President Obama's health care law Monday by dedicating 90 minutes to the one issue on which the White House and the Republican challengers agree: The justices should hand down a speedy ruling on the constitutionality of the law this summer, rather than punt it to 2015 or beyond.

Lawyers for the Obama Justice Department and for the 26 Republican-led states challenging the law agreed that an old statute called the Anti-Injunction Act -- which forbids people from challenging taxes in court unless they've already been assessed by the government -- does not apply in this case. The Supreme Court enlisted outside counsel to make the opposite case.

The justices appeared broadly skeptical that the law's fine imposed on Americans who fail to carry health insurance qualifies as a "tax."

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Affordable Care Act

The Most Radical Part Of The Health Care SCOTUS Challenge

Sahil Kapur | March 23, 2012, 5:37AM

The U.S. Supreme Court chamber (Associated Press)

It hasn't received nearly as much attention as the other main legal challenge to the health care law. But next Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments over whether the Affordable Care Act's expansion of the Medicaid program is too coercive to states, and thus violates the Constitution.

If upheld, the states' far-reaching argument could invalidate decades of government programs. The law requires states that accept federal matching funds for Medicaid to expand that program to cover everyone under 133 percent of the poverty line. That may sound like an onerous burden for state governments, many of which are already stretched extremely thin. But the federal government will be picking up most of the tab for the expansion. So the argument essentially boils down to this: The new Medicaid funds Congress is giving us to insure more of our residents is too good an offer to pass up, and should therefore be struck down.

"What they're basically saying is, you're making us a deal that we can't refuse because it's such a good deal. And therefore it's unconstitutional," Tim Jost, a law professor at Washington and Lee University, and supporter of the health care law, told TPM. "I mean just to state the argument shows how ridiculous it is."

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Health Care

DOJ Files Brief Defending Key Health Care Law Provision To SCOTUS

Brian Beutler | January 6, 2012, 3:42PM

President Barack Obama speaks on the economy in Shaker Heights, OH on January 4, 2012.

Here's the Justice Department's brief defending the new health care law's individual Supreme Court.

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Medicaid

ObamaCare Challenge Exposes Conservative Hypocrisy On Federal Power

Brian Beutler | December 12, 2011, 1:21PM

The Supreme Court in Washington, DC

Next year policy wonks, politics junkies, and legal experts will wait with bated breath for the Supreme Court to determine the constitutionality of a key section of President Obama's health care law: the mandate that uninsured individuals purchase health care coverage.

But the court will also review another major piece of the law -- the requirement that states expand Medicaid eligibility to people with incomes of up to 133 percent of the federal poverty line. This is no small expansion. Of all the millions of people expected to become insured under the law, about half will be covered through Medicaid.

For the first several years, the federal government will pay the states for the full cost of the expansion. After 2020, the federal contribution will drop to 90 percent. States with conservative governors don't like this one bit. But Medicaid is a voluntary program -- if states don't like the terms and conditions the government sets for the program, they're free to drop out of it.

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Obamacare

Supreme Court To Review Obamacare Individual Mandate

Brian Beutler | November 14, 2011, 10:30AM

The U.S. Supreme Court building

The U.S. Supreme Court will review the constitutionality of a key part of President Obama's health care law, and will likely issue a decision by July 2012, in the middle of next year's election.

Monday's announcement comes just days after the latest appeals court ruling on the law's mandate that people purchase health insurance. The three judge panel in the District of Columbia upheld the constitutionality of the provision, as have several other appeals courts. One has ruled that the provision should be stricken.

However, it's that particular case the Supreme Court has chosen to review -- one joined by over two dozen states and the National Federation of Independent Businesses. It has journeyed through conservative district and circuit courts, both of which ruled with plaintiffs, so it may not be the ideal bellwether. But as conservative reporter Philip Klein notes, very bright conservative litigators are arguing this one.

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Health Care

D.C. Appellate Court Upholds Constitutionality Of Obamacare

Brian Beutler | November 8, 2011, 11:49AM

President Barack Obama

A three-judge panel on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals -- comprised of two judges appointed by Republican presidents and one by a Democrat -- upheld the constitutionality of a key section of President Obama's health care law in a ruling released Tuesday.

Senior Judge Laurence Silberman and Judge Harry Edwards ruled to uphold the law -- specifically the mandate that requires Americans to purchase health insurance -- on the merits. Judge Brett Kavanaugh dissented from their ruling, but he, too, would have ruled against the plaintiffs seeking to overturn the mandate. His opinion argued that federal courts lack jurisdiction to enjoin the mandate, which functions similarly to a tax.

Silberman, a conservative all-star, was first nominated to the D.C. Circuit by Ronald Reagan, and became a senior judge when Kavanaugh -- a George W. Bush nominee -- was confirmed to the court. Edwards was nominated by Jimmy Carter.

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Health Care

Paul Ryan Predicts SCOTUS Will Strike Health Care Law Mandate Giving GOP Leverage To Nix Obamacare

Brian Beutler | October 6, 2011, 11:32AM

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) wants Congress to retain control of the fees that the United States Patent and Trademark Office collects and divert them to other government programs.

The chairman of the House Budget Committee -- and author of the GOP's controversial budget -- predicted Thursday that the Supreme Court would nix the individual insurance mandate in President Obama's health care law. But though he outlined alternative means by which to assure universal health care coverage that he supports, he said the GOP would use the Court's action to force a fight over dismantling Obamacare.

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Health Care

Obama Administration Moves Aggressively To Put Health Care Law Before Supreme Court

Brian Beutler | September 28, 2011, 4:13PM

The Obama administration has taken its aggressive legal defense of the new health care law to a new level.

In an unexpected twist, the Justice Department is asking the Supreme Court to swiftly overturn an 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the law's mandate requiring people to buy insurance is unconstitutional -- the only Circuit Court to rule this way so far.

"[T]oday, the Obama Administration will ask the Supreme Court to hear this case, so that we can put these challenges to rest and continue moving forward implementing the law," wrote Stephanie Cutter, a senior Obama adviser, on the White House blog. "We know the Affordable Care Act is constitutional. We are confident the Supreme Court will agree."

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Barack Obama

'Obama Cares': President Tries To Reclaim Label From The Right

Thomas Lane | August 15, 2011, 2:41PM

Since Barack Obama first came to office with plans to reform the country's healthcare system, conservative critics have derogatorily branded his policies as "Obamacare."

Speaking today in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, the President pushed back by embracing the term.

"I have no problem with folks saying 'Obama cares'," he told the crowd. "I do care."

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Health care lawsuits

11th Circuit: Health Care Law's Individual Mandate Is Unconstitutional

Brian Beutler | August 12, 2011, 2:15PM

In a split decision, a three-judge panel on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has determined that the health care law's individual mandate exceeds Congress' Commerce Clause powers and is therefore unconstitutional. However, unlike the district court ruling preceding this case, the judges found the mandate to be "severable" and thus holds that the rest of the law can stand.

In a joint opinion, Judges Joel Dubina -- a Reagan appointee elevated to the circuit court by George H.W. Bush -- and Frank Hull -- a conservative Clinton appointee -- "concluded that the individual mandate exceeded congressional authority under Article I of the Constitution because it was not enacted pursuant to Congress's tax power and it exceeded Congress' power under the Commerce Clause and the Necessary and Proper Clause."

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Constitution

Bush-Appointed Former Scalia Clerk Upholds Constitutionality Of Health Care Law On Appeal

Brian Beutler | June 29, 2011, 1:40PM

President Barack Obama

For the first time, a Republican appointed federal judge -- part of a three-judge circuit court panel -- has ruled that the individual insurance mandate in President Obama's health care law is constitutional.

The Sixth Circuit appellate court panel -- the first appellate court to rule on the question -- dismissed the plaintiffs' claim that levying a penalty against people who choose not to purchase insurance exceeds Congress' Commerce Clause powers. The justices also dismissed the underlying argument that the provision amounts to "regulating inactivity."

The development represents a significant victory for the Obama administration, which is facing numerous challenges to the mandate from individuals, conservative interest groups and Republican governors. A number of district court judges have ruled on the question already, and in a striking pattern, all Republican-appointed judges have ruled against the administration, and all Democratic judges with the administration. Today's development upends that trend.

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Health Care

Inactivity My A$$: Judge Dismisses Key Argument Of Health Care Reform Foes

Brian Beutler | June 9, 2011, 1:14PM

President Barack Obama

Oral arguments are over in the highest profile lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of President Obama's health care reform law. So the new parlor game for observers and stakeholders is identifying key moments from Wednesday's proceeding in Atlanta that indicate where the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals may be headed.

The three-judge panel in the case, brought by 26 mostly Republican states and others, posed tough questions to both plaintiffs and defendants and made it clear they found merit in arguments from both sides. But in a brief exchange with plaintiffs' attorney Paul Clement, one of the judges -- Bill Clinton appointee Frank Hull -- dismissed one of health care reform foes' key arguments out of hand.

Specifically, Hull cast aside the plaintiff's claim that by compelling non-participants in the insurance industry to buy health insurance, it regulates "inactivity."

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Health Care

Appellate Court Questions Plaintiffs' Standing To Challenge Health Care Law

Brian Beutler | May 17, 2011, 10:33AM

President Barack Obama

A three-judge panel on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals hearing one of the pending challenges to the health care reform law has sent lawyers for both sides a somewhat unusual letter, suggesting the court may be focused on whether plaintiffs have standing to bring suit in the first place. The court also appears to be focused on whether, assuming plaintiffs do have standing, their claims are ripe for adjudication.

The one-page memo asks counsel to submit 10-page briefs answering a few questions. Most significantly, they question whether the plaintiffs have alleged an "injury" or "imminent injury," given the fact that the health care law's individual mandate will not be in effect for another two and a half years. Additionally, the judges want to know how broadly the plaintiffs are challenging Congress' power to require people to buy health insurance under the Constitution's Commerce Clause.

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Health Care

Luck Of The Draw? Dem-Friendly Panel To Hear Health Care Lawsuit Challenges

Brian Beutler | May 10, 2011, 10:57AM

President Barack Obama

The Obama administration has lucked out in Virginia. A three-judge panel of U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit will hear arguments Tuesday morning from plaintiffs challenging the constitutionality of the health care reform law Congress passed law last year. And all three of those judges -- selected randomly by computer -- were appointed by Democratic Presidents.

The political composition of the panel is crucial -- thus far, in lower court rulings, judges appointed by Democrats have all upheld the law while Republican-appointed judges have stricken parts, or all of the law on constitutional grounds.

This was by no means a likely outcome. Though the conservative-leaning court has become more liberal since Obama took office, the odds of drawing an all-Dem panel are still quite low -- about 20 percent.

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Health Care

The GOP Proposes 'Obamacare' For Seniors -- Just Don't Tell Democrats Or Republicans That

Brian Beutler | April 15, 2011, 9:38AM

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)

If I told you that the chairman of the Republican senators' reelection committee wanted to phase out the existing Medicare system and slowly replace it with Obamacare, would you believe me? No major caveats, no clever tricks. Just a slow transition from Medicare as we know it to the same health care law Republicans have sued and attempted to repeal -- but for seniors only.

You probably wouldn't. But you'd be wrong.

The long-term Republican budget plan proposed by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) phases out Medicare as a guaranteed, universal, single-payer system and replaces it with a government-subsidized private insurance program. If that sounds familiar, it should.

"It's exactly like Obamacare," said NRSC chairman Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) in the Capitol Thursday. "It is. It's exactly like it. Which strikes me as bizarre that you're seeing so much pushback [from Democrats]."

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Chris Koster

Missouri Dem AG Supports Lawsuit Against Health Care Reform

Eric Lach | April 12, 2011, 1:24PM

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, a Democrat, has entered a 35-page amicus brief in support of case brought by 26 states against the health care reform law, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

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Health Care

The Real Death Panel: If 'Obamacare' Repealed, Some Patients Can't Go Back

Brian Beutler | March 24, 2011, 3:00PM

If the health care reform law were to disappear tomorrow, Dallas Wiens would be in trouble.

Earlier this week, in a 15-hour procedure, Boston surgeons grafted a donor's face onto Wiens' skull. Weins is a 25-year-old boom lift operator from Texas who came into contact with a live electrical wire, costing him his lips, nose, and eyes and leaving him severely disfigured.

The Department of Defense covered the cost of the surgery through a grant to Brigham and Women's Hospital, where the surgery was performed -- an investment the military hopes will pay off in new surgical techniques that will benefit wounded soldiers. But all the Pentagon's largesse would have been for naught without the new health care law.

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Health Care

Weiner Says SCOTUS Will Rule Against Health Care Law, Paving Way For Public Option

Brian Beutler | March 23, 2011, 12:41PM

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY)

This is more in the spirit of partypooping than of celebration. But on the first anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, one of the law's most dogged defenders, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), admitted he thinks the Supreme Court will strike down the individual mandate. It's not that he thinks the mandate is unconstitutional, but that the court has become so partisan, that its conservative justices will rule against President Obama in a 5-4 decision. He wasn't glum about it, though -- if the mandate goes he said it will pave the way for Congress to pass the public option.

"If lightning strikes, and it turns out that as many of us believe, the Supreme Court turns out to be a third political branch of government and they strike down the mandate -- big deal," Weiner said, expressing a 'so what?!' sentiment. "Big deal!"

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Ginni Thomas

The Daily Caller Hires Tea Partying Wife Of Supreme Court Justice As 'Special Correspondent'

Brian Beutler | March 22, 2011, 10:19AM

Virginia Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas

Ginni Thomas, the tea party leader, health care reform foe, and controversial wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, will join The Daily Caller as a reporter.

From Business Wire: "As The Daily Caller's special correspondent, Thomas will interview key political and community leaders -- from high-profile politicians to grassroots activists -- with a focus on listening to those outside the Beltway."

Thomas is no stranger to the spotlight. She worked in 2010 to defeat Democrats, and her role as a de facto tea party, anti-health care reform lobbyist have led critics to demand that her husband recuse himself when the health care law appears before the Supreme Court.

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Health Care

Florida Judge Stays Decision Voiding Health Care Law

Brian Beutler | March 3, 2011, 1:18PM

President Barack Obama

Roger Vinson, the Florida district court judge who voided the entire health care law has issued a stay of his own ruling, giving the Obama administration a week to file an appeal.

His decisions sowed confusion -- sometimes opportunistic confusion -- about whether states were required to implement the law during the appeal process. The Department of Justice sought clarification from Vinson last month to ease that confusion. In his clarification, Vinson also stayed his own decision, on the condition that the DOJ file its appeal with a higher court within seven days.

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Affordable Care Act

Federal Judge In D.C. Upholds Health Care Reform, Says Some Arguments 'Ignore Reality'

Ryan J. Reilly | February 22, 2011, 7:51PM

President Barack Obama

A federal judge on Tuesday upheld the health care reform law signed last year by President Barack Obama and found that Congress had the clear authority to regulate health insurance under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution.

U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler's 64-page ruling (below) takes aim at the argument espoused by many conservatives which holds that the passive act of not purchasing health insurance does not constitute an activity that can be regulated under the Commerce Clause.

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Department of Justice

DOJ Seeks Clarification From Florida Court On Health Law Ruling

Brian Beutler | February 17, 2011, 6:24PM

Attorney General Eric Holder

The Department of Justice has asked the Florida district court that voided the health care law for some clarification.

DOJ spokeperson Tracy Schmaler says the administration wants to confirm "that the court did not intend to disrupt the many programs currently in effect, including small business tax credits, the millions of dollars in federal grants awarded to states to help with health care costs, and other ongoing consumer protections while this case is on appeal."

Depending on the court's response, the administration could still seek a stay from this court or the court of appeals.

You can read their entire motion below.

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Health Care

FreedomWorks Gives Health Care Repeal Pointers To House GOP

Brian Beutler | February 16, 2011, 1:22PM

Dick Armey, FreedomWorks chairman

In a sign that the public is tiring of GOP efforts to repeal the health care law, the Tea Party-aligned group FreedomWorks is pressing Republican leaders to go on the offense -- double down on the repeal push while advocating conservative health care policies.

In a memo to House Republicans, the leaders of FreedomWorks, including former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, suggest that the public is souring on repeal because the GOP lacks a coherent set of reforms with which to "replace" the health care law.

"We're sending this memo because we believe your ultimate success depends as much on how you handle the "replace" as the "repeal" side of the strategy. We think it's time to start emphasizing what you're for as much as what you're against," the memo reads.

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Health Care

Virginia Agrees To Implement Key Provision In Health Care Law

Brian Beutler | February 4, 2011, 12:30PM

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, (third from left), Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (center), Virginia Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (third from right) and others observe a moment of silence

Virginia's Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli wants the Supreme Court to declare "Obamacare" unconstitutional. But in the meantime, the rest of the state's government is moving right along to get the law implemented.

By a vote of 95-3, the Virginia General Assembly agreed to develop health insurance exchanges states, which each state will be required to have by 2014 under the Affordable Care Act.

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Health Care

Mississippi Judge Tosses Health Care Reform Challenge -- But Doesn't Address The Key Question

Brian Beutler | February 4, 2011, 9:10AM

The Obama Administration is quietly trumpeting the fact that a federal judge in Mississippi tossed out a lawsuit Thursday challenging the constitutionality of the health care reform law.

By definition, it's good news for the White House. But the judge in question didn't rule on the legal question that is at the heart of the constitutional challenges to the new law.

It was a strange suit, filed by the lieutenant governor of Mississippi, Phil Bryant, acting in his capacity as a civilian, along with several other individuals. And unlike the other challenges to the law, including the one by many state attorneys general, which allege that the law's individual mandate exceeds Congress' Commerce Clause powers, this lawsuit was brought on 10th Amendment grounds.

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Health Care

Republicans See Opportunity To Capture Health Law If SCOTUS Strikes Mandate

Brian Beutler | February 3, 2011, 12:17PM

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)

An interesting dynamic is taking shape in Congress as health care lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the individual mandate wind their way up to the Supreme Court.

One potential outcome -- and the one that Republicans are hoping for -- is that the Supreme Court will invalidate the mandate and sever it from the law, leaving an unstable health care policy in place.

Theoretically, Congress could just change that mandate in a way that would easily pass constitutional muster -- simple tweaks that could pass in a matter of days and leave the implementation process largely unmolested.

But for that to happen, Republicans would have to play ball -- and that would mean giving up new-found leverage to really undercut the law. Don't fool yourself into thinking they'd give up that power willingly.

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Health Care

Obama Administration Opposes Expedited SCOTUS Ruling On Health Law

Brian Beutler | February 3, 2011, 11:22AM

The Obama Administration wants to bide its time on its legal defense of health care reform. In a statement to reporters Thursday morning, spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler says the Department of Justice is opposed to calls -- by Republicans and some Democrats -- for an expedited Supreme Court ruling on the constitutionality of the health care law's individual mandate.

"The Department continues to believe this case should follow the ordinary course of allowing the court of appeals to hear it first so the issues and arguments concerning the Affordable Care Act can be fully developed before the Supreme Court decides whether to consider it," she says.

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Health Care

Effort To Repeal Health Care Law Fails In Senate

Brian Beutler | February 2, 2011, 6:26PM

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell

An effort spearheaded by Republicans to repeal the new health care law collapsed Wednesday evening after the Senate refused to ignore its adverse impact on the deficit.

By a vote of 47-51, the Senate sustained an objection to the legislation on the grounds that it does not comply with congressional budget rules. Because a full repeal of the law is projected to increase the deficit, waiving that point of order would have required 60 votes.

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Health Care

Democrats Explore Alternatives To Health Insurance Mandate

Brian Beutler | February 2, 2011, 2:19PM

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)

Most Democrats believe, or say they believe, that the courts will uphold the individual insurance mandate as constitutional -- and slice off one prong of the GOP attack on the health care law.

But they're also exploring their options.

One plan is modeled on an existing incentive built into the Medicare prescription drug benefit: Create an open-enrollment period for people who want to buy health insurance, and assess a penalty on anybody who tries to enter the insurance market after that window closes.

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Health Care

Republicans Hide Health Care Law Benefits From Their Constituents

Brian Beutler | February 2, 2011, 10:22AM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

Two days after a Republican Florida federal court judge voided the entire health care law, the multi-front Republican war against it continues in the Senate, where members will vote today on whether or not to just repeal it, full stop.

Simultaneously, Republican members are trying to sneak grenades into the heart of the law, crafting modifications which they admit are meant to destroy it.

But that presents them with a conundrum when they head back to their states and districts and face constituents who stand to benefit from the law right now -- seniors who are entitled to free checkups, and young adults, who can now stay on their parents' insurance until they turn 26, for example. Republicans can chose to help those constituents navigate the law -- answer their questions constructively, encourage them to seek those benefits -- or they can let their political agendas interfere.

Different strokes for different folks.

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Health Care

Heavy Hitters Rip Florida Federal Judge's Opinion Striking Health Care Law

Brian Beutler | January 31, 2011, 5:35PM

President Barack Obama

Legal experts who support President Obama's health care law spoke to reporters Monday afternoon to criticize a far-reaching opinion by Florida federal district court judge Roger Vinson that the individual insurance mandate is unconstitutional -- and that the entire law must therefore be voided.

"This is a decision that has such radical implications that I'm confident it will be overturned," said former Solicitor General Walter Dellinger.

In addition to declaring the mandate unconstitutional, Vinson declined to "sever" it from the rest of the law, and instead held that the entire law out should be thrown out. That goes far beyond standard practice, under which courts tend to defer to Congress and sever only the provisions of law that they find unconstitutional -- even if Congress didn't include a "severability clause" in the legislation.

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Health Care

Florida Judge Voids Entire Health Care Law

Brian Beutler | January 31, 2011, 3:00PM

President Barack Obama

A federal district court judge in Florida ruled today that a key provision in the new health care law is unconstitutional, and that the entire law must be voided.

Roger Vinson, a Ronald Reagan appointee, agreed with the 26 state-government plaintiffs that Congress exceeded its authority by passing a law penalizing individuals who do not have health insurance.

"I must reluctantly conclude that Congress exceeded the bounds of its authority in passing the Act with the individual mandate," Vinson writes. "Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire Act must be declared void."

[Emphasis added]

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CNN

Poll: Individual Coverage Mandate Least Popular Part of Health Care Law

Jon Terbush | December 28, 2010, 12:24PM

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R)

The health care bill that passed earlier this year continues to be a divisive and generally unpopular piece of legislation as a whole. But a CNN poll out today indicates that the broad unpopularity may in part be due to just one of the bill's provisions -- the individual mandate.

When asked specifically about three major provisions contained in the health care law, only the one requiring all Americans to have health insurance was opposed by a majority of respondents to the poll. Thirty-eight percent said they supported that provision, versus 60% who were opposed.

By contrast, 61% of respondents were in favor of preventing insurance providers from dropping coverage for patients who become seriously ill, versus 39% who opposed that piece of the bill. Respondents were also in favor of the provision preventing insurers from denying coverage for preexisting conditions by a 29 point margin, 64%-35%.

Yet despite the overwhelming support for two of the three provisions presented in the poll, 54% of respondents said they had a generally unfavorable opinion of the law as a whole, while 43% had a favorable opinion. That seems to suggest that while Americans largely favor pieces of the health care overhaul, their skepticism of the individual mandate trumps their support for those other reforms.

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Health Care

After Court Ruling, Virginia Health Secretary Gives Reform The Thumbs Up

Brian Beutler | December 16, 2010, 9:46AM

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, (third from left), Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (center), Virginia Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (third from right) and others observe a moment of silence

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is still taking victory laps (and raising money) after posing the first successful court challenge to the new health care reform law. But just one day after the verdict came down, a state panel appointed by his own governor, Bob McDonnell found that "health reform is worth doing" and urged swift implementation of the bill, even as legal challenges against it proceed.

Buried deep within the report is a caveat about the importance of the insurance mandate, which Cuccinelli is fighting on Constitutional grounds.

"[T]he insurance reforms scheduled to go into effect in 2014 - especially guaranteed issue (insurers must sell to all comers) and modified community rating (no differential rating by health status) - would make adverse selection a much greater risk if there is no mandate or if the mandate is ineffectual," a draft of the report reads. "Given the lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the individual mandate, as well as the controversy over the weak mandate penalty if it does remain in place, the likelihood of national reform legislation changing between now and 2014 is relatively high."

The panel is chaired by Virginia's Secretary of Health and Human Resources Bill Hazel, whom McDonnell appointed earlier this year. I guess that means Virginia's official position on health care reform is that it's an unconstitutional threat to our liberty, but if the courts don't throw out our Quixotic court challenge, by God, we'll take it! Sic Semper Tyrranis.

[H/T: Kaiser Health News]

Health Care

DOJ Will Appeal Health Care Lawsuit, Says It Shouldn't Be Fast Tracked

Ryan J. Reilly | December 14, 2010, 2:00PM

Attorney General Eric Holder

The Justice Department said Tuesday that they'll appeal a federal judge's ruling that the individual mandate contained in the health care law is unconstitutional and said the case shouldn't head straight for the Supreme Court.

"We intend to appeal the district court's ruling in Virginia to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals," Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler told TPM in a statement.

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Health Care Implementation

Poll: Support For Health Care Law Remains Low

Jon Terbush | December 14, 2010, 8:30AM

President Barack Obama

Support for the health care overhaul slipped lower in the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll released yesterday -- the same day a federal judge ruled that a key provision of the law was unconstitutional.

Forty-three percent of respondents said they supported the health care legislation, compared to 53% who said they were opposed. Support is down from a high of 48%, recorded in November 2009. Those results are in line with most other polls taken in the last few months.

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Eric Cantor

Cantor: Obama Should Request HCR Case Go Straight To SCOTUS

Eric Lach | December 13, 2010, 3:58PM

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA)

In response to a federal judge's ruling that part of the new health care law is unconstitutional, incoming House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) has called on the President and Attorney General Eric Holder to speed up the process and get the case quickly to the Supreme Court. In a statement, Cantor lauded the ruling as a "clear affirmation that President Obama's health care law is unconstitutional."

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Ken Cuccinelli

Cuccinelli Takes Health Care Suit Victory Lap (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | December 13, 2010, 3:48PM

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli claimed victory against the federal government in the wake of a federal judge's ruling that the individual mandate in the health care reform law signed by President Barack Obama earlier this year is unconstitutional.

"We won the first round in this particular fight, but we know there are others to come," Cuccinelli told reporters in a news conference Monday afternoon.

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