Department of HHS v. Florida Case Brief

Department of HHS v Florida Case Brief

Facts:

On March 2010, the so called Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law. ACA was created in order to reform various aspects of the industry of private healthcare insurance, in effect providing easier and more accessible health insurance for millions of people in the United States. Medicaid is a program which the ACA Act intends to expand through helping the said program achieve expanded coverage, lower rates or costs, and most of all, security for millions of Americans in the country in terms of healthcare.

One of the main things that the ACA aimed to address was the fact that millions of Americans had no actual health insurance and yet continually and actively consumed health care services for which they did not actually pay. The said Act contained a so called “minimum coverage provision” which amended the Tax code and provided a so called “individual mandate” which, in short, stipulated that individuals who failed to purchase and actually maintain a specific or minimum level of health insurance would be subject to a tax penalty. Aside from this, the Act also provided that Medicaid would be expanded and that the various states would have to accept such expansion in order to receive funds from the federal government for it. It was also stipulated that employers were obliged to obtain health coverage for all his employees.

The ACA, however, was challenged as per its constitutionality in several federal courts around the country. One of the contentions of the courts involved was that no state can actually be “controlled” or forced into agreeing with the said improvements since Medicaid has always been treated and seen as a completely voluntary and therefore, states have the right and prerogative to make the various adjustments or amendments that they think necessary for their respective state needs.

Plenty briefs from various individuals as well as groups were filed in relation to this case in order to uphold the constitutionality of the said Act.

On January 2011, a ruling in the case by one Judge Vinson deemed it to be unconstitutional as regards the said Act’s expansion of Medicaid. He stated that the Minimum coverage provision or Individual mandate provision of the said act cannot stand alone when separated from the other parts of the Health Care Reform law and that Congress did not have the authority to adopt such a provision in the first place. He then made a declaratory judgment to the effect that the law should be stricken down in its entirety.

On September 2011, the Obama Administration made a petition to the Supreme Court for the review of the decision passed. The Supreme Court then approved such appeal and proceeded to reexamine the said case.

Issue:

The issue is whether or not the said Affordable Care Act is constitutional.

Application

YES. This case underwent numerous courts and decisions and it was subjected to many opposing opinions. Ultimately, however, on June 28, 2012, the United States of America Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.  In particular, the Individual mandate was declared by the court as constitutional, stating that it was the Congress’ power to levy taxes that was being used and not its ability to regulate interstate commerce. Medicaid also received a favorable judgment but the court imposed some restrictions such as that the Congress may not condition the receipt of the entire fund for Medicaid based on participation on the said expansion.

This case is quite remarkable as a landmark case. Here, Chief Justice Roberts broke with the Supreme Court’s conservative wing in order to uphold the decision in 5-4. Notable in this decision is the dissent of Justice Ruth Ginsberg whose argument was centered around the lack of the power of the Congress to actually enact the said law.  

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