UPDATE: Legal and political experts are predicting that after the U.S. Supreme Court sets out its ruling, expected in late June, on the constitutionality of the Obama Administration’s Health Reform law, we can expect the Justices to make a quick rush to a recess. The implications of the case are momentous for both the nation’s economy, as it grapples with ever-rising healthcare costs, as well as the upcoming presidential election in November. Supreme Court watchers say that the Justices will wait to issue their decision until right before summer recess to minimize political fallout for the Court.
Supreme Court Timeline Set for Health Reform (originally posted 12.31.2011)
The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a timeline for oral arguments to be heard on challenges to health reform law. The Court will consider four specific legal questions to be argued over three days within distinct time limits:
March 26: Whether the Anti-Injunction Act bars the lawsuit that challenges the insurance coverage mandate before it goes into effect (1 hour).
March 27: Whether Congress has the power under Article 1 of the Constitution, or the commerce clause, to regulate economic inactivity in order to mandate minimum coverage (2 hours).
March 28: Whether Congress exceeded its powers in mandating minimum coverage, and if so, is the law in its entirety invalidated or to what extent can the individual mandate be separated from the remainder of the law (1.5 hours).
March 28: Whether Congress exceeded its powers by forcing states to accept an expansion of Medicaid costs and administration under pain of losing Medicaid funding (1 hour).
The Supreme Court Justices are expected to hand down their decision sometime in mid-2012, ensuring health reform to be a focus of the November presidential race.
