Appeals Court Upholds Health Care Mandate

By Andrea Salazar

The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia today delivered a victory to President Obama and other supporters of the Affordable Care Act.

In a split opinion, the panel ruled that the federal government has the authority to require all Americans to purchase health insurance or pay a fine, even if it encroaches on individual liberties.

“The right to be free from federal regulation is not absolute and yields to the imperative that Congress be free to forge national solutions to national problems,” Judge Laurence Silberman wrote.

The American Center for Law and Justice brought the case, arguing that the mandate violates individual and religious freedom by forcing a people to purchase insurance.

The Supreme Court will likely rule on the law next year.

Health Care Law Upheld In Cinncinnati Appeals Court

Vanessa Remmers

President Obama’s health care law experienced a victory Wednesday in the U.S. 6th Circuit Appeals Court in Cincinnati, Ohio.

In a 2-1 decision, judges upheld the constitutionality of the law’s requirement for the uninsured to purchase health insurance or face a financial penalty.

“Congress had a rational basis for concluding that the minimum coverage provision is essential to the Affordable Care Act’s larger reforms to the national markets in health care delivery and health insurance,” Judge Boyce Martin said in the Court’s written opinion. “The provision regulates active participation in the health care market, and in any case, the Constitution imposes no categorical bar on regulating inactivity

The case reached the Appellate Court after an unconstitutional verdict in the District Court.

Several Attorney Generals and governors bringing cases against the law gathered outside the courtroom to hear the verdict, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The full opinion can be read here.