From Kaiser Health News March 3, 2011 Scoreboard: Tracking Health Law Court Challenges

COURT OVERTURNED LAW OR PART OF LAW

Primary Plaintiff: State of Florida (joined by 25 other states) Judge & Court: Roger Vinson, Northern District of Florida Current status: Vinson declared the law unconstitional on Jan. 31, 2011. In his ruling, Vinson struck down the entire law after finding the individual mandate unconstitutional, because "the Act, like a defectively designed watch, needs to be redesigned and reconstructed by the watchmaker."

The government is expected to appeal to the 11th Circuit and has asked Vinson for a clarification on whether his ruling prohibits states from moving forward with implementation while the ruling is being appealed. In a March 3 order, Vinson treated the government’s motion to clarify as a motion to stay his Jan. 31 ruling. Vinson granted the stay, under the condition that the government file their appeal within seven days and that they seek an expedited appellate review.

Given the expectation that the Supreme Court will ultimately rule on the constitutionality of the health law, Vinson wrote, “It is very important to everyone in this country that this case move forward as soon as practically possible.”

Primary Plaintiff: Commonwealth of Virginia Judge & Court: Henry Hudson, Eastern District of Virginia Current status: Hudson declared the individual mandate unconstitional on Dec. 13, 2010. The government appealed the ruling to the 4th Circuit. The appeal is scheduled to be heard between May 10-13, 2011. In his ruling, Hudson wrote, "Neither the Supreme Court nor any federal circuit court of appeals has extended Commerce Clause powers to compel an individual to involuntarily enter the stream of commerce by purchasing a commodity in the private market."

On Feb. 8, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli sought to bypass the 4th Circuit and asked the U.S. Supreme Court to consider an expedited review of Hudson’s decision. The government has until March 14 to respond. Legal analysts expect the government to oppose the review, which means it is unlikely the Court will take the case up early.

COURT RULED LAW CONSTITUTIONAL AND DISMISSED CASE

Primary Plaintiff: Liberty University Judge & Court: Norman Moon, Western District of Virginia Current status: The court dismissed the case on Nov. 30, 2010; Liberty appealed to the 4th Circuit on Jan. 17, 2011. The court will hear arguments during its May 10-13 session. The judge rejected the argument that the Commerce Clause can’t compel people to buy health insurance because that would be regulating inactivity. He wrote: "Far from ‘inactivity,’ by choosing to forgo insurance, plaintiffs are making an economic decision to try to pay for health care services later, out of pocket, rather than now, through the purchase of insurance."

Primary Plaintiff: Thomas More Law Center Judge & Court: George Caram Steeh, Eastern District of Michigan Current status: The court dismissed the case on Oct. 7, 2010. Thomas More appealed to 6th Circuit on Dec. 15, 2010. The case is to be heard between May 30-June 10. The judge rejected the argument that the Commerce Clause can’t compel people to buy health insurance because that would be regulating inactivity. He said choosing not to buy insurance has an impact on health care providers and taxpayers and, therefore, is an example of “activities that substantially affect interstate commerce.”

Primary Plaintiff: Margaret Peggy Lee Mead (brought by the American Center for Law and Justice, Jay Sekulow) Judge & Court: Gladys Kessler, District of Columbia Current status: The court dismissed the case on Feb. 22, 2011. Kessler upheld the individual mandate, writing: "The individual decision to forgo health insurance, when considered in the aggregate, leads to substantially higher insurance premiums for those other individuals who do obtain coverage." Plaintiff filed an appeal to the D.C. Circuit on March 1, 2011.