Lawsuit Challenging Health Care Law Approved to Advance
On Tuesday, the new health care reform law’s constitutionality was legally challenged after a federal judge indicated he would advance a lawsuit filed by elected officials from 20 states. In the lawsuit, the elected officials plan to fight the requirement that most individuals must obtain health insurance to avoid penalties from the government.
Judge Won’t Dismiss Lawsuit
After presiding over a two-hour hearing regarding constitutionality of the health care reform law, Judge Roger Vinson of Federal District Court announced that he was leaning toward allowing representatives from 20 states push forward in their lawsuit.
While his ruling was not official, he admitted he would probably ignore the government’s attempts to dismiss the lawsuit. He noted that it’s fair to question whether it’s right for the federal government’s power to be so broad that it can require citizens to purchase a commercial product like medical insurance.
He is expected to issue a formal opinion on the lawsuit no later than Oct. 14 with scheduled arguments on the merit of the case to occur on Dec. 16.
One of Many Lawsuits Filed
While this Pensacola lawsuit is the second one to advance at this stage, it is just one of 15 that have been filed since health care reform became a law. The first was filed by 14 states only minutes after President Barack Obama signed the health care reform bill into law, citing that the bill was unconstitutional.
However, most of the lawsuits have not had much luck in getting past the first stage. Only one other judge in Richmond, Virginia overlooked the government’s appeal to have the lawsuit dismissed.
The debate on just how fair forced health insurance coverage has been debated since prior to the law’s passage. With states like Missouri legally voting for the right to refuse the health insurance mandate, it may be a matter of time before we see some important changes to the new health care law.
Do you think that mandated health insurance is constitutional?
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