Newsletter

February 1, 2011 - Federal Judge Strikes Down Health Care Reform Law as Republicans Push for Senate Vote on Repeal

A federal judge this week struck down last year’s controversial health care reform law as unconstitutional, prompting opponents to push for quick Senate action on a bill passed by the House last month that would repeal the measure.

U.S. District Court Judge Roger Vinson in Florida said Congress exceeded its authority under the Commerce Clause by including an individual mandate that will take effect in 2014 and require individuals to either obtain health insurance or pay a fine for not doing so.

Vinson said the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s lack of a severability clause made it impossible for him to separate out the individual mandate from the rest of the law, and struck down the full measure. He did not, however, issue an injunction to bar enforcement of the law.

In December, U.S. District Court Judge Henry Hudson in Virginia ruled that the individual mandate was unconstitutional but did not find that it invalidated the entire statute. More than a dozen other federal judges have rejected challenges to the provision, and the issue is expected to reach the appellate level and eventually go to the Supreme Court for a final resolution.

The White House called Vinson’s ruling “judicial activism” and expressed confidence that the law will be upheld, but House and Senate Republicans disagreed.

“Today’s decision affirms the view held by most of the states and the majority of the American people that the federal government should not be in the business of forcing you to buy health insurance and punishing you if you don’t,” House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said. “The easiest way to protect the American people from this job-destroying health care law is to repeal it. … The House has passed legislation to do just that, and I hope that Senate Democratic leaders will bring up the measure for an up-or-down vote.”

Boehner said the health care law is “a major source of uncertainty for small businesses” and urged that the case be taken to the Supreme Court “for a swift and fair resolution.”

Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., said he expects a Senate vote as soon as this week. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has said he does not intend to bring the House repeal legislation up for a vote, but reportedly has discussed the possibility of holding a vote this week with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

“It’s pretty hard to prevent voting on something as important as this in the Senate and I am confident that we will have a vote,” Kyl said.

Senate Republicans might try to attach repeal to a Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill expected to see a vote this week, according to one published report.

The Republican-controlled House passed its repeal measure by a mostly party-line vote of 245-189 on January 19, along with a resolution calling on committees to develop a package of replacement measures. NRF supported the repeal vote, saying the law will fail to reduce health care costs and includes employer mandates and penalties that will threaten jobs by driving up costs for employers. Like the individual mandates, the employer mandates don’t take effect until 2014, but some retailers have already slowed hiring because of concerns over the requirement.

The court ruling in Florida comes less than a week after Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, introduced one bill to repeal the law’s individual mandate and another to repeal the employer mandate.

“This sweeping new law missed the opportunity to make serious progress in reducing the cost of medical care and coverage and instead imposed job-killing mandates on employers and individuals,” NRF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Mallory Duncan said in a letter to Hatch on Monday.

“Eliminating the employer mandate would greatly aid the greater retail community, which is heavily dependent on labor,” Duncan said. “In addition, we cannot support the individual mandate … given the lack of immediate and long-term progress in reducing the cost of medical care and coverage.”

© 2011 National Retail Federation