Court Says Mandatory Insurance Not Unconstitutional
Abstract
Court Says Mandatory Insurance Not UnconstitutionalJonathan Wolfe A federal appeals court supports the government's right to institute a “minimum coverage” health insurance mandate as part of the new health care reform law. The provision of President Obama's health care reform law that mandates individual purchase of health insurance coverage has been deemed constitutional by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. This marks the first appellate court ruling on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's hotly contested “minimum coverage” provision, which requires most Americans to obtain health insurance beginning in 2014 or pay a penalty. According to Judge Boyce Martin Jr., who wrote the Ohio-based court's 2-1 majority opinion, the provision is “a valid exercise of Congress' authority under the Commerce Clause.” “First, the provision regulates economic activity that Congress had a rational basis to believe has substantial effects on interstate commerce,” wrote Martin. “In addition, Congress had a rational basis to believe that the provision was essential to its larger economic scheme reforming the interstate markets in health care and health insurance.” Robert Cabaj, M.D., chair of APA's Council on Advocacy and Government Relations, told Psychiatric News that the ruling can be viewed as