D.C. Court of Appeals upholds health law's individual mandate

Nov 10 2011

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court weighs hearing arguments on the measure's constitutionality.

The New York Times: Health Law Survives Test In Court Of Appeals
The decision came as the Supreme Court is about to consider whether to take up challenges to the Affordable Care Act, a milestone legislative initiative of the administration (Schwartz, 11/8).

Los Angeles Times: Federal Court Backs Health Care Law
One of the nation's most closely watched federal courts ruled Tuesday that the new health care law's requirement that most Americans get health insurance is constitutional, giving a surprise boost to President Obama's signature domestic achievement. The opinion by the conservative-leaning U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia marked the second time this year that a federal appellate court with a majority of Republican appointees has backed the law and its insurance mandate (Levey, 11/9).

The Washington Post: Appeals Court Upholds Health Care Law
A federal appeals court upheld the constitutionality of the 2010 health care law Tuesday, granting the Obama administration another appellate victory as the law nears an expected final review by the Supreme Court (Aizenman, 11/8).

The Associated Press/Washington Post: Appeals Court Rules Obama Health Care Law Is Constitutional, Agrees To Toss Religious Suit
A conservative-leaning appeals court panel on Tuesday upheld the constitutionality of President Barack Obama's health care law, as the Supreme Court prepares to consider this week whether to resolve conflicting rulings over the law's requirement that all Americans buy health care insurance (11/8).

The Wall Street Journal: Health Law Survives Another Appeal
Joining two other federal appeals courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sided with the government to uphold the law's requirement that most Americans carry health insurance or pay a penalty (Kendall and Bravin, 11/9).

USA Today: High Court Weighs Hearing Arguments On Health Care Law
The case is shaping up to be the most contentious at the Supreme Court in more than a decade, but everyone involved agrees at least on one point: They need to know as soon as possible whether the new health care law is constitutional (Biskupic, 11/8).

Politico: D.C. Court Upholds Health Reform Law
The ruling comes just days before the Supreme Court is expected to consider whether to take up the issue. That decision could come as soon as Thursday, when the justices will hold a private conference to discuss what cases to take this term (Haberkorn, 11/8).

Market Watch: Third Appeals Court Upholds Health-Care Law
The Obama administration is now three for four at the appellate level when it comes to rulings on its sweeping health care legislation, as a District of Columbia panel determined Tuesday that the law is constitutional. A split opinion from the conservative-leaning, three-judge panel in Washington dismissed a Christian legal group's lawsuit, which claimed that requiring health insurance is unconstitutional and is a violation of religious freedom. The panel upheld a ruling from a U.S. District Court in Washington (Britt, 11/8).

Reuters: U.S. Appeals Court Backs Obama Health Care Law
President Barack Obama's signature health care law got a boost on Tuesday when a U.S. appeals court agreed with a lower court that dismissed a challenge and found the law's minimum coverage requirement was constitutional. The U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld a lower court ruling that had found it constitutional to require Americans to buy health care insurance coverage by early 2014 or face a penalty and had dismissed a lawsuit challenging it (Pelofsky and Lambert, 11/8).

Bloomberg: Obama Health Care Law Ruled Constitutional By Appeals Court
President Barack Obama's health care legislation requiring almost all Americans to have medical insurance beginning in 2014 is constitutional, a U.S. appeals court ruled. The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington today upheld the measure Obama signed into law in March 2010 by a 2-1 vote. It was the third appellate court to rule on the constitutionality of the statute, and the second to reject a challenge to its insurance mandate by opponents who argue the government has no right to force an individual purchase a service or product (Schoenberg and Harris, 11/8).

ABC: Big Victory For Obama Administration On Health Care Today
In a victory for the Obama administration, the D.C. Court of Appeals has upheld the constitutionality  of a key provision of the health care law. The 2-1 decision is sure to embolden the Obama administration because it was written by Laurence H. Silberman, a Ronald Reagan appointee, who is considered one of the leading conservative jurists on the bench. At issue before the three-judge panel was the individual mandate, a central provision of the Affordable Care Act, which requires individuals to buy health insurance by 2014 or pay a penalty (DeVogue, 11/8).

NPR's SHOTS blog: Conservative Appeals Court Judge Writes Opinion Upholding Health Law
Silberman's opinion acknowledged that "a direct requirement for most Americans to purchase any product or service seems an intrusive exercise of legislative power" and explains why legislators hadn't gone that route before. While a mandate "certainly is an encroachment on individual liberty," he continues, it's no more intrusive than requiring hotels and restaurants to serve customers without regard for race (Hensley, 11/8).