Justice Department will appeal health ruling, Virginia decision viewed as one step in long path to Supreme Court

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Dec 16 2010

The Justice Department makes clear its intent to appeal the Virginia federal court decision striking at the health overhaul's individual mandate. Meanwhile, news outlets explore the reach of that decision, noting that it may be more narrow than the reaction immediately following its release would indicate. Also explored: the next steps for this central provision within the health law and how it has become the sweeping overhaul's "central villain."

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. To Appeal Health Ruling
The Justice Department said it would appeal a decision invalidating a core provision of the federal health care overhaul, the next skirmish in a constitutional struggle likely to reach the Supreme Court before the 2012 presidential election (Bravin, 12/15).

The Hill: Virginia Ruling Won't Skip Federal Appeals Court
The Department of Justice announced Tuesday afternoon it will appeal a district court ruling that a key part of the new health care reform law is unconstitutional....The administration will appeal the district court ruling to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler said in a statement. Some Republicans, including incoming House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (Va.) had called on President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder to fast-track the appeal to the Supreme Court (Millman, 12/14).

Fox News: Justice Department To Appeal Virginia Judge's Ruling Against Health Care Law
The Justice Department said Tuesday it intends to appeal to a U.S. District Court judge's ruling declaring a key part of President Obama's health care law unconstitutional. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals would get the case that originated in Virginia when the state filed a lawsuit saying the individual mandate is unconstitutional (12/14).

The Wall Street Journal: Health-Law Ruling Viewed As Limited
A Virginia judge's ruling on the health overhaul may be narrower than either side of the case let on after Monday's decision (Adamy, 12/14).

NPR: Court Decision In Virginia Not The Final Word On New Health Law
Just about everyone agrees that U.S. District Court Judge Henry Hudson's decision to strike down the central tenet of the new health law won't be the end of the saga. But Hudson did something no one expected. When he declared unconstitutional the requirement that most people get health insurance, he allowed the rest of the law to remain intact. And if the Supreme Court agrees with that structure, says Neera Tanden of the Center for American Progress and a former Obama Administration health aide, it "could have the effect of wreaking havoc in the insurance system" (Rovner, 12/14).

The New York Times: Ruling Has Some Mulling The Necessity Of Mandating Insurance
Though they have battled for more than a year, President Obama and the health insurance industry agree that the requirement for most Americans to obtain insurance, struck down by a federal judge, is absolutely essential to the success of the new health care law (Pear, 12/14).

The Washington Post: Mandatory Health Insurance Now Law's Central Villain
With a court ruling in Virginia this week that the government cannot require Americans to buy health insurance, President Obama has landed in the position of defender-in-chief of an idea he once opposed (Goldstein, 12/15). The Post also has a chart detailing the status of health law legal challenges.

Bloomberg: Health Care's Future Is 'Up For Grabs' As U.S. Supreme Court Clash Looms
The focus of the debate over President Barack Obama's health-care overhaul is already turning toward the U.S. Supreme Court, even though it may be years before the justices resolve the law's constitutionality (Stohr, 12/15).

Reuters: Q&A-What is the future of US health care after lawsuit?
The future of U.S. President Barack Obama's healthcare reform has been put in doubt after a judge ruled unconstitutional a key element obliging people to buy health insurance (Lambert, 12/14).

This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.