Obama health insurance plans upheld at the Appeals court

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDJun 30 2011

President Obama's healthcare make over plans sailed through its first hurdle at the federal appellate court, as the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati concluded that the law's insurance requirement is constitutional.

“We find that the minimum coverage provision is a valid exercise of legislative power by Congress under the Commerce Clause,” a 2-1 majority of the panel concluded, rejecting a challenge by the conservative Thomas More Law Center. Notably joining the majority opinion was Judge Jeffrey Sutton, an appointee of President George W. Bush and a former law clerk to conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

The Thomas More lawsuit has not attracted as much attention as two other legal challenges being pushed by GOP state officials in Virginia, Florida and other states. Those suits are being reviewed by federal appellate courts in Atlanta and Richmond, Va.

Most legal experts and other litigants involved in healthcare lawsuits expect the fate of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that President Obama signed last year to ultimately be determined by the U.S. Supreme Court, possibly next year.

Karen Harned, executive director of the National Federation of Independent Business' Small Business Legal Center said, “While the decision in the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals is disappointing, it is only the first of several opinions we expect on the constitutionality of the law in the coming months.”

The 6th Circuit's opinion, and particularly Sutton's participation, marked a notable legal victory for the Obama administration and its allies, who have asserted that Congress had the authority to require Americans to obtain health insurance starting in 2014.

In his 27-page opinion, Judge Sutton said that the health care law meets the classic tests that the Supreme Court has imposed in deciding whether Congress has acted within its authority under the Constitution's Commerce Clause, the provision that empowers Congress to regulate interstate commerce or matters that otherwise “substantially affect” interstate commerce.

Judge James Graham, who was appointed by President Reagan, reiterated that concern in his dissent Wednesday. “If the exercise of power is allowed and the mandate upheld, it is difficult to see what the limits on Congress' Commerce Clause authority would be,” he wrote.