Health Insurance and You!

This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed that, as expected, they will hear and rule on the constitutionality of last year’s health reform law. According to an article by Bill Mears of CNN, the court will hear at least 5.5 hours of oral arguments scheduled for the early spring, with additional time possible. They will issue a ruling by the end of June, less than five months before the 2012 election.

The case, led by Florida, was filed by 26 states. Other states joining the challenge include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. In addition to those states, independent groups and individuals, as well as the states of Virginia and Oklahoma, have filed separate cases.

At the center of the suit is the individual mandate: a provision requiring individuals to enroll in and maintain health insurance coverage. The law includes several strategies to help make universal coverage possible, including online health insurance exchanges run by the states and federal government. But those against the mandate argue that the government cannot force individuals to buy insurance, a product or service that they may or may not want or need.

According to a blog post by Jason Kane of PBS NewsHour, the court will consider four key questions: whether the individual mandate is constitutional, whether it can be cut out of the rest of the reform law, whether a “tax” can be reviewed by the court before being implemented, and whether Medicaid expansions that were also part of health reform are legal.

For more information and previous coverage of this debate on our blog, please read:

• Nov. 11, 2011: D.C. Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Individual Mandate
• Nov. 4, 2011: Insurers Worried about Potential Repeal of Individual Mandate
• Additional posts about health policy and regulation