U.S. Chamber Takes Health Care Fight to the Courts
Impossible To Sever “Individual Mandate” From The Rest Of The Law, Chamber Amicus Brief Argues
WASHINGTON, D.C—The National Chamber Litigation Center (NCLC), the public policy law firm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, today filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit explaining that it is impossible to sever the individual mandate from the rest of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The case is Commonwealth of Virginia, ex. rel. Kenneth Cuccinelli v. Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
“The individual mandate is inextricably intertwined with the rest of the health care law," explained Robin Conrad, the executive vice president of the National Chamber Litigation Center. “If the court rules that the individual mandate is unconstitutional, then the entire health care law is suspect. We think that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida – which struck down the entire health care law – properly recognized that it is impossible to sever the individual mandate from the rest of the health care law. If the Fourth Circuit does not strike down the entire law, then at the very least the court should send the case back to the trial court to carefully evaluate what sections of the law must be struck down along with the mandate.”
On December 13, 2010, the U.S. District Court for Eastern District of Virginia ruled that the minimum coverage requirement of the health care law exceeds Congress’ constitutional powers, and invalidated the mandate but left most of the remaining law intact. The U.S. Chamber's amicus brief argues that if the Fourth Circuit agrees that the individual mandate is unconstitutional, the court cannot merely sever the mandate from the rest of the law because the mandate is central to the entire scheme.
The Chamber's brief explains that the health care law requires insurers to accept applicants without regard to their medical history and health status, and the law prohibits insurers from charging higher premiums based on health status and other factors. Without the individual mandate, those provisions of the law would encourage consumers to apply for health insurance on the way to the emergency room. This would raise premiums for consumers, force some insurers out of the market, and shift even greater costs to employers.
“A year has passed since enactment of the ill-conceived health care law, and the verdict is in: the law does nothing to curtail rising costs, it is producing a wave of new job-killing regulations, and it is chilling economic growth,” said Bruce Josten, executive vice president for Government Affairs at the U.S. Chamber. “We have said it before, and we are saying it again: the health care law is impractical, unworkable, and must be scrapped so we can work toward real solutions.”
To read the Chamber's amicus brief, please visit the National Chamber Litigation Center website: http://www.chamberlitigation.com. For more information on the health care reform law, please visit the Chamber’s Health Reform Impacts website: http://www.healthreformimpacts.com/
NCLC is the public policy law firm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that advocates fair treatment of business in the courts and before regulatory agencies.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.
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