Karl Eisenhower, Author at ��ϳԹ�� News

Survey: Even In Southern States, Medicaid Expansion Is Popular

Karl Eisenhower — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:50:13 +0000

Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina have a lot in common: The summers are hot and the political climates are conservative. These are states where Mitt Romney handily beat Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election, so it’s not surprising to learn that the president’s signature health law is unpopular there.

But despite the law’s unpopularity, its expansion of Medicaid is supported by almost two-thirds of adults in these states, by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a left-leaning think tank.

The survey found only 33 percent of adults in the five states have a favorable opinion of the 2010 health law — ranging from a low of 31 percent in Louisiana to a high of 35 percent in Alabama. Yet 62 percent say they support expanding Medicaid to cover more low-income, uninsured adults — ranging from a low of 59 percent in Mississippi to a high of 64 percent in Alabama.

By comparison, found that Americans overall support the Medicaid expansion by only a 50 percent to 41 percent margin. (KHN is an editorially independent program of the foundation.)

The Supreme Court ruled last year that the federal government cannot force states to expand their joint federal-state Medicaid programs for the poor.��According to health care consultant group Avalere Health, in this survey plans to expand its Medicaid program under the health law.

The survey found even stronger support for the law’s creation of health insurance marketplaces — also called exchanges — for small businesses and individuals. Three-quarters of respondents expressed a favorable opinion of the marketplaces, ranging from 73 percent in Louisiana and Georgia to 77 percent in Mississippi. All five of these states have , so the federal government will be running the marketplaces in these states.

Not all provisions of the law were regarded favorably, however. By a 65 percent to 31 percent margin, respondents had an unfavorable opinion of the law’s individual mandate that will require all Americans as of 2014 to either sign up for health insurance or pay a penalty.

The Joint Center’s poll surveyed 500 people in each of the five states for a total sample of 2,500 adults. It was conducted between March 5 and April 8 and has a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points for the full sample and +/- 4.4 percentage points for each of the state samples.

��ϳԹ�� News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about .

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Today’s Headlines – June 8, 2012

Karl Eisenhower — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 12:31:16 +0000

: White House, Lawmakers Prepare For Supreme Court Ruling On Obama’s Health-Care Law
In this city of rumors and leaks, it has been an excruciating lead-up to the Supreme Court ruling on President Obama’s health-care law. The decision is just days away, but virtually no one knows precisely when it will come or what it will say. Each day brings a new wave of speculation via Twitter and Washington gossip channels. And behind the scenes, Republicans and Democrats are strategizing about what to do in the moments and days after the most consequential high court decision in a generation — a ruling that will reverberate politically and in the lives of everyday Americans (Somashekhar and Aizenman, 6/14).

: With Justices Set To Rule On Health Law, 2 Parties Strategize
House Republicans are not waiting for the Supreme Court verdict on the new health care law to plot their strategic response. If the measure is not thrown out entirely, House leaders plan to force a vote immediately to repeal the law to reinforce their deep opposition to the legislation, opposition that has become central to their political identity (Weisman and Shear, 6/14).

For more headlines …

: Inside: The Secret Keepers: Meet The U.S. Supreme Court Clerks
With a ruling expected soon in the landmark U.S. healthcare case, Supreme Court watchers have scoured the landscape for clues about how the nine justices will vote. But they left one stone unturned. Make that 36. That is the number of law clerks who serve the justices, do their research, help draft their opinions and exert a not insignificant influence on their thinking (Baynes, 6/14).

: Any Supreme Court Ruling Hurts Nonprofit Hospitals
No matter how the Supreme Court decides on the national healthcare law, nonprofit hospitals will face a rocky future, Moody’s Investors Service said in a study published on Thursday. Within the next two weeks the highest court in the country is expected to rule on the constitutionality of the healthcare reform law, known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, that has inspired both political and legal battles from the moment President Barack Obama signed it into law more than two years ago (6/14).

: News Organizations Ask Supreme Court For Live Audio, Video Coverage Of Health Care Ruling
News organizations are asking the Supreme Court to allow cameras in the courtroom for the first time for its eagerly awaited decision on President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press executive director Lucy Dalglish says the court should allow live audio and video coverage of the decision, expected in the next two weeks (6/14).

: Public Agrees On Deficit As A Problem, But Not On Solutions
The government’s deficit involves two separate problems. One is the impact of the bad economy, which pushes tax revenues down while increasing spending on programs including unemployment insurance, food stamps and Medicaid. Even if the economy fully recovers, however, the second part of the deficit – the built-in part — would remain. It results from a simple fact of life – the average age of the U.S. population is going up, meaning that more retirees are eligible for Social Security, Medicare and other benefit programs for the elderly, which currently make up about half of every dollar the federal government spends (Lauter, 6/15).

: In Answer To Obama, Boehner Highlights GOP Building Efforts
Hours before President Obama delivers an economic address in Cleveland, House Speaker John A. Boehner is out with a prebuttal intended to spotlight GOP efforts in Congress to boost the economy and create jobs. In the online video, Boehner stands at his desk in the speaker’s office before a table full of bills that have passed the Republican-led House but stalled in the Senate, where the Democratic majority has largely panned them. The bills hew to the GOP’s small-government mantra: dismantle federal regulations, expand domestic energy production, repeal Obama’s healthcare law, revamp Medicare and cut domestic spending, among others (Mascaro, 6/14).

: Romney Raises Millions At Chicago Campaign Event
Romney repeatedly contended that Obama’s agenda would further inject government into the free-market system, using the president’s health care overhaul law as an example. That agenda, he said, has created economic uncertainty that has restrained business growth (Pearson, 6/15).

: GAO Report: Feds Spent $102M On Medicaid Fraud Contracts, But Only Identified $20M
Private contractors received $102 million to review Medicaid fraud data, yet had only found about $20 million in overpayments since 2008, according to a new report by the federal government. “Significant federal and state resources are being poured in but only limited results are coming out,” said Ann Maxwell, a regional inspector general for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (6/14).

: Costs Exceed Results In Medicaid Fraud Program
An audit program meant to combat Medicaid fraud has cost taxpayers about $102 million since 2008 while identifying less than $20 million in overpayments, according to a report released by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office on Thursday. The National Medicaid Audit Program used incomplete federal data to conduct 1,550 audits, and apparently because of that, the majority of the audits failed to find any fraud, the GAO said at a Senate hearing (Goldberg, 6/14).

: Red States Eye Health Exchanges
Some conservative experts see reason to hope the states that have been fighting the health care reform law could become hotbeds of health policymaking if the Affordable Care Act fails. They say the work many red states have been quietly doing to comply with the law in case they lose in the Supreme Court could be repurposed to create state-based reforms on a more conservative model. Some states, for instance, may look at their own version of Utah’s small-business insurance exchange (Feder, 6/14).

: Hawaii Governor Decides Intent For State-Based Insurance Exchange Under US Health Care Reform
Gov. Neil Abercrombie says Hawaii is the first state to declare its intent to develop a state-based insurance exchange — a key component of federal health care overhaul. The Obama Administration’s health care reform law calls for states to establish exchanges by 2014. The exchanges are marketplaces where individuals and small businesses may choose from an array of private health coverage plans (6/14).

: Quinn Says Medicaid Cuts Were Needed To Prevent Collapse
Gov. Pat Quinn signed a series of bills into law Thursday aimed at saving the state’s troubled health care program for the poor through a combination of deep cuts and a $1-a-pack cigarette tax increase. The moves are aimed at closing a $2.7 billion funding gap created by years of overspending, which had saddled the Medicaid program with so much debt that the Democratic governor said it was on the brink of collapse (Garcia and Groeninger, 6/15).

: For Some Druggists, Medicaid Changes Mean Pain
CVS Caremark, which this spring became one of seven pharmacy benefit managers handling Medicaid recipients’ claims, said that its rates are competitive and there is a firm barrier between its benefit management program and CVS retail pharmacies. The transition to managed care this spring was bumpy, with numerous computer errors and miscommunications between the State Health and Human Services Commission, pharmacists and the pharmacy benefit managers (Aaronson, 6/14).

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Berwick Calls For Leaders To Rise Above ‘Political Catechism’

Karl Eisenhower — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 14:14:52 +0000

Every week, reporter Jessica Marcy selects interesting reading from around the Web.

: Don Berwick On The Fate Of ‘Obamacare’
Between July 2010 and December 2011, Dr. Donald Berwick was head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency that runs the government’s health insurance programs. In a sane world, he would be still. But Senate Republicans refused even to let his confirmation come up for a vote. … A pediatrician by training and a widely respected expert in health care policy, Berwick should have been a lock for the CMS job. But he was a backer of Obamacare; a believer in data and science; a proponent of universal health care. … Rolling Stone got him on the phone to talk about this week’s healthcare hearings at the Supreme Court, the importance of Obamacare, and the future of reform (Julian Brookes, 3/30).

: Full-Court Press
When the arguments came to a close at the end of March 28th, Mr Obama faced one hopeful prospect—the court might uphold the mandate—and several nightmares. … The Supreme Court is expected to issue its decision by the end of June. … However the court rules, the political consequences will be huge. Even more important, for the long term, will be the court’s articulation of congressional power. Washington subsists on hyperbole. But this time it is all true (3/31).

: Legal Drug-Pushing: How Disease Mongers Keep Us All Doped Up
Pharmaceutical giants, like small-town pizza parlors, have two options for making more money: convince regulars to buy more of what they obviously like, or find ways to persuade more people that they will be happier with this drug or that thin crust with extra cheese. … These “disease mongers” — as science writer Lynne Payer in her 1992 book of that name called the drug industry and the doctors, insurers, and others who comprise its unofficial sales force — spin and toil “to convince essentially well people that they are sick, or slightly sick people that they are very ill.” Changing the metrics for diagnosing a disease is one reliable technique (John-Manuel Andriote, 4/3).

: The Doctor Won’t See You Now
Last year, 13 Americans died during running races, and another eight while competing in triathlons.��… the rising participation and the proportional death toll—especially in cases like (Peter) Hass’s—highlight the need for quality medical care at these events. And usually that care comes from volunteer doctors. At least it used to. More and more doctors are refusing to donate their services, and it’s for one frustrating reason: they can’t get medical-malpractice insurance. Most doctors’ insurers typically won’t issue one-day policy riders for sporting events, and race organizers haven’t stepped up to offer alternative coverage (Eric Beresini, 2/28).

: Dentists Without Borders
One thing that puzzled me during the American health-care debate was all the talk about socialized medicine and how ineffective it’s supposed to be.��… my experiences in France, where I’ve lived off and on for the past thirteen years, have all been good. A house call in Paris will run you around fifty dollars. … most of my needs are within arm’s reach. There’s a pharmacy right around the corner, and two blocks further is the office of my physician, Dr. Médioni. Twice I’ve called on a Saturday morning, and, after answering the phone himself, he has told me to come on over. These visits, too, cost around fifty dollars. … I’ve gone from avoiding dentists and periodontists to practically stalking them, not in some quest for a Hollywood smile but because I enjoy their company (David Sedaris, 4/2).

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Advocacy Group Targets Democratic Senators With Ad Featuring Pat Boone

Karl Eisenhower — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 19:00:33 +0000

The , a conservative-leaning advocacy group focused on issues for seniors, began running new television spots this week targeting five incumbent Democratic senators for their support of the Medicare provisions in the 2010 health law.

60 Plus, which backs the authored by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is spending $3.5 million to run the ads on both cable and broadcast in five states over the next two weeks. Ryan, who heads the House Budget Committee, proposed a plan that kept the same $500 billion level of cuts to Medicare (over 10 years) that the health law contains.

Each version of the ad, which features 77-year-old crooner Pat Boone, asks seniors to call one of five senators — Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., Bill Nelson, D-Fla., Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and Jon Tester, D-Mont. — to express opposition to health law provisions like the . All five senators are up for re-election this fall.

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Romney’s Evolution On Abortion; The Birth Of The HIV Epidemic

Karl Eisenhower — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 21:59:18 +0000

This week’s selection of intriguing weekend reading includes articles from Slate, the Los Angeles Times, American Medical News, Salon, Columbia Journalism Review, The Washington Post, BBC and Medscape.

: The Conversion: How, When, And Why Mitt Romney Changed His Mind On Abortion
(GOP presidential candidate Mitt) Romney began his political career as a pro-choicer. In the story he tells, he had an epiphany, a flash of insight, and committed himself thereafter to protecting life. But that isn’t what happened. The real story of Romney’s conversion—a series of tentative, equivocal, and confused shifts, accompanied by a constant rewriting of his past—paints a more accurate picture of who he is. Romney has complex views and a talent for framing them either way, depending on his audience. He values truth, so he makes sure there’s an element of it in everything he says. He can’t stand to break his promises, so he reinterprets them (William Saletan, 2/22).

: Healthcare History: How The Patchwork Coverage Came To Be
Most of us get health insurance through our jobs, a system puzzling to the rest of the industrial world, where the government levies taxes and offers health coverage to all as a basic right of modern society. But for many Americans, their way feels alien — the heavy hand of government reaching into our business as some bureaucrat tells doctors and patients what to do. … The long-standing tension between public and private healthcare in America has produced a unique and confusing way to provide protection against the cost of ill health (Bob Rosenblatt, 2/27).

Also included in this package, are stories about the ; the in 1988; and the .

: Insurers Think Outside The Policy
Once upon a time, U.S. insurers’ business was paying claims and putting together networks of physicians and hospitals. Today, they are selling health benefits for workers in Brazil, developing health information exchange systems and even helping big physician groups bill patients. That work was once outside the purview of the largest U.S. health insurers — or relegated to side projects. But in 2012, after U.S. health system reform and amid other changes sweeping the industry, health plans are relying on businesses that were once peripheral to drive company profits (Emily Berry, 2/27).

: The Billion-Dollar Battle Over Premenstrual Disorder
For about five to seven days of every month, a woman may as feel as though she were a different person. A person she doesn’t like. … Doctors and psychiatrists at work on the newest version of the Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders — the American Psychiatric Association’s bible for mental-health professionals — describe this confluence of symptoms as Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD). The revised version of the DSM, just the fourth new edition in 52 years, will be published next year. … Since 1987, PMDD has lingered in the ghetto of the DSM: the appendix pages where proposed diagnoses are deemed in need of “further study.” But right now, it appears as though PMDD will ascend in the ranks from a hypothetical ailment to illness to become a full-blown depressive disorder; taking a place alongside Major Depression and Bi-Polar Depression (Natasha Vargas-Cooper, 2/25).

: A Medicare Memo To Campaign Reporters
Hmmm, I thought. Seniors already can choose between Medicare and private plans. I asked my Arkansas host how these private plans were being sold in her county. She told me insurance agents selling private plans had teamed up with local pharmacists, who told seniors that if they didn’t sign up for a particular agent’s policy, the pharmacists whom they trusted said they wouldn’t be their pharmacists any more. Well, you don’t have to be a brain surgeon to know what most of the seniors did (Trudy Lieberman, 2/27).

: Colonialism In Africa Helped Launch The HIV Epidemic A Century Ago
We now know where the epidemic began: a small patch of dense forest in southeastern Cameroon. We know when: within a couple of decades on either side of 1900. We have a good idea of how: A hunter caught an infected chimpanzee for food, allowing the virus to pass from the chimp’s blood into the hunter’s body, probably through a cut during butchering. As to the why, here is where the story gets even more fascinating, and terrible (Craig Timberg and Daniel Halperin, 2/27).

: Will We Ever… Grow Organs?
In June 2011, an Eritrean man entered an operating theatre with a cancer-ridden windpipe, but left with a brand new one. People had received windpipe transplants before, but Andemariam Teklesenbet Beyene’s was different. His was the first organ of its kind to be completely grown in a lab using the patient’s own cells (Ed Yong, 2/24).

: Tracking Healthcare Variability: Is More Care Better Care?
Dr. [Eli] Adashi: It’s undeniable that we as a nation are going through a difficult patch with respect to a variety of aspects, not least of which is healthcare. If we were to liken for a moment the American healthcare system to a patient, what is the prognosis of this patient? Dr. [John] Wennberg: It’s certainly going to have to figure out how to go from a spurt of growth to a spurt of maturity and stability. … certainly the great difficulty is whether the adolescent can enter into a new phase in which there is cooperation and an understanding of the requirements for building systems of care, and doing things that physicians were not trained to do, work in teams, and ultimately limiting capacity (2/24).

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An Animated Conversation About ACOs

Karl Eisenhower — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 19:06:15 +0000

Accountable Care Organizations are a continuing source of interest to both health care providers and consumers. We at KHN have called them “.”

Now WBUR’s CommonHealth blog has put together that walks viewers through how ACOs work and what that means for consumers. The blog promises that this is only the first installment of what they’re calling “Wonk Cinema.” Enjoy.

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A New Way To Carry KHN In Your Pocket

Karl Eisenhower — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:51:11 +0000

Can’t get enough Kaiser Health News? Now there’s a new way to take KHN with you everywhere you go.

KHN is available on , a mobile news app for smartphones and tablets. It works on any iPhone or Android phone, plus any iPad or Android tablet.

The Google Currents edition of Kaiser Health News includes all of your favorite features, including:

KHN’s original reporting.
The daily news summaries in the Daily Health Policy Report.
The KHN Capsules blog.
Video from KHN.

To load Google Currents on your mobile device — or to add Kaiser Health News to your existing Google Currents reader — open the following link on your phone or tablet:

Let us know how you like it, and please share it with your friends.

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On First Lady’s Guest List: Young Adult Insurance Coverage

Karl Eisenhower — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:07:45 +0000

Adam Rapp of Fall Creek Township, Ill., will have one of the best seats in the House as President Barack Obama addresses a joint session of Congress Tuesday night.

President Obama’s 2011 State of the Union address to Congress (Chuck Kennedy/White House via Wikimedia Commons)

In a custom , the first lady’s guest list for the annual State of the Union address combines both personal and political considerations. Guests are often selected as exemplars of administration policies or topics the president will discuss during his speech.

A release from the White House describes Rapp as someone who benefited from the 2010 health law’s provision mandating that for coverage under their parents’ health insurance plans until their 26th birthdays. Rapp, diagnosed with cancer on his 23rd birthday, was able to remain on his parents’ policy during his treatment.

Rapp that without the change in the law, “I definitely wouldn’t have gotten the treatment I needed. There’s no other way to put it.”

Government data show have taken advantage of this provision.

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TV Spots Target Three Republicans On Medicare Cuts

Karl Eisenhower — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:16:39 +0000

The and trade unions, along with the liberal advocacy group , are warning Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass. and Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., that votes in favor of Medicare and Medicaid budget cuts will be unpopular with seniors.

The groups launched ads today featuring the voice of a woman who sounds as though she’s old enough to be eligible for Medicare. The script of each version is the same, with only the name of the targeted member of Congress changing. Heller and Brown are seeking reelection, and Rehberg is running for the Senate against Democratic incumbent Jon Tester.

The ad targeting Sen. Brown, embedded below, is running only in the Boston market, and only on cable television. The Heller ad is running on broadcast stations in Reno, and the Rehberg ad is running on broadcast stations in Billings and Missoula. All three spots will run through the end of this week.

A transcript follows:

If you vote to cut Medicare, Sen. Brown, I will remember it every time I visit my doctor. I’ll remember you cut Medicare and Medicaid every time I fill a prescription. I’ll remember you cut Medicare if I fall or get hurt. I’ll remember you chose protecting millionaires over protecting my health. My friends will remember it too –- all of them. Call Senator Heller. Tell him to protect Medicare and Medicaid.

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Scoreboard: Tracking Health Law Court Challenges

Bara Vaida — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 10:34:00 +0000

Appeals courts have ruled on six challenges to the health law, and three more currently await appeals courts rulings.��But the focus has now shifted to the U.S. Supreme Court, which on Nov. 14 announced it would hear the appeal of Florida vs. HHS.

KHN is tracking the status of 26 federal lawsuits seeking to overturn the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and will update those and other new cases on this page.�� (Last update: Nov. 14, 2011)

Appeals Court Status & Rulings

Florida vs. HHS: Supreme Court announced on Nov. 14 that it would hear this case.��(jump to)
Susan Seven-Sky vs. Holder: Appeals court ruled law constitutional on Nov. 8 (jump to)
Virginia vs. Sebelius: Appeals court ruled against plaintiffs on Sept. 8 (jump to)
Liberty University vs. Geithner: Appeals court ruled against plaintiffs on Sept. 8 (jump to) Baldwin & Pacific Justice Institute vs. Sebelius: Appeals court upheld district court dismissal on Aug. 12.��(jump to)
New Jersey Physicians vs. Obama: Appeals court upheld district court dismissal on Aug. 3 (jump to)
Thomas More Law Center vs. Obama: Appeals court ruled law constitutional on June 29 (jump to)
Kinder vs. Geithner: Oral arguments heard on Oct. 20. (jump to)

District Court Status & Rulings

Court overturned law or part of law: 3 cases (jump to)
Court ruled law constitutional and dismissed case: 6 cases (jump to)
Court dismissed for lack of standing or procedural problems: 9 cases (jump to)
Court dismissed but gave plaintiff right to refile: 0 cases (jump to)
Court decision pending: 8 cases (jump to)

COURT OVERTURNED LAW OR PART OF LAW

Primary Plaintiff: State of Florida (joined by 25 other states, the National Federation of Independent Business, and two individuals)

District Judge & Court: Roger Vinson, Northern District of Florida

District Court Status: Vinson declared the law unconstitional on Jan. 31, 2011. In , Vinson struck down the entire law after finding the individual mandate unconstitutional, because “the Act, like a defectively designed watch, needs to be redesigned and reconstructed by the watchmaker.”

On March 8, the government filed a notice of appeal with the 11th Circuit. The court set an expedited briefing schedule that could result in the case being taken up by the Supreme Court during its October 2011 term.

Appeals Judges & Court: Joel F. Dubina (GHW Bush), Frank M.��Hull (Clinton), Stanley Marcus (Clinton), 11th Circuit Court of Appeals

Appeals Court Status: The appeals court found the individual mandate unconstitutional by a 2-1 vote on Aug. 12.��The court, however, found the individual mandate to be severable from the rest of the law, and found the remaining provisions “legally operative.” Judge Marcus dissented. The government on Sept. 28 appealed the case to the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court Status: The Supreme Court announced on Nov. 14 that it will hear the appeal to this case in its next term.

Primary Plaintiff: Commonwealth of Virginia

District Judge & Court: Henry Hudson, Eastern District of Virginia

District Court Status: Hudson declared the individual mandate unconstitutional on Dec. 13, 2010. The government appealed the ruling to the 4th Circuit.

In his ruling, Hudson wrote, “Neither the Supreme Court nor any federal circuit court of appeals has extended Commerce Clause powers to compel an individual to involuntarily enter the stream of commerce by purchasing a commodity in the private market.”

On April 25 the Supreme Court denied the Virginia attorney general’s request that the high court fast track case and hear it before the federal appeals process was exhausted.��

Appeals Judges & Court: Diana Gibbon Motz (Clinton), Andre M. Davis (Obama), James A. Wyan (Obama), 4th Circuit Court of Appeals

Appeals Court Status: In a unanimous ruling on Sept. 8, the court ruled against the plaintiffs, vacated the district court judgement and remanded the case to that court “to dismiss the case for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.”

Primary Plaintiff: Barbara Goudy-Bachman and Gregory Bachman

District Judge & Court: Christopher Conner, Middle District of Pennsylvania

District Court Status: The court ruled on Sept. 13 that the individual mandate is unconstitutional.�� Judge Connor wrote that allowing the individual mandate to stand “would effectively sanction Congress’s exercise of police power under the auspices of the Commerce Clause, jeopardizing the integrity of our dual sovereignty structure.”

COURT RULED LAW CONSTITUTIONAL AND DISMISSED CASE

Primary Plaintiff: Liberty University

District Judge & Court: Norman Moon, Western District of Virginia

District Court Status: The court dismissed the case on Nov. 30, 2010; Liberty appealed to the 4th Circuit on Jan. 17, 2011.��

The judge rejected the argument that the Commerce Clause can’t compel people to buy health insurance because that would be regulating inactivity. He wrote: “Far from ‘inactivity,’ by choosing to forgo insurance, plaintiffs are making an economic decision to try to pay for health care services later, out of pocket, rather than now, through the purchase of insurance.”

Appeals Judges & Court: Diana Gibbon Motz (Clinton), Andre M. Davis (Obama), James A. Wyan (Obama), 4th Circuit Court of Appeals

Appeals Court Status: In a 2-1 ruling on Sept. 8, the court ruled against the plaintiffs, vacated the district court judgement and remanded the case to that court “to dismiss the case for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.” Judge Davis dissented.

Primary Plaintiff: Thomas More Law Center

District Judge & Court: George Caram Steeh, Eastern District of Michigan

District Court Status: The court dismissed the case on Oct. 7, 2010. Thomas More appealed to 6th Circuit on Dec. 15, 2010.�� The judge rejected the argument that the Commerce Clause can’t compel people to buy health insurance because that would be regulating inactivity. He said choosing not to buy insurance has an impact on health care providers and taxpayers and, therefore, is an example of “activities that substantially affect interstate commerce.”

Appeals Judges & Court: Boyce F. Martin, Jr. (Carter), Jeffrey S. Sutton (GW Bush), James Graham (Reagan), 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Appeals Court Status: In a 2-1 ruling on June 29, the appeals court ruled that Congress has a “rational basis” to impose an individual mandate and upheld the health law.��

Supreme Court Status: The plaintiff filed an appeal July 27 with the Supreme Court asking it to overturn the 6th Circuit decision.�� The Justice Department has until Sept. 28 to respond.

Primary Plaintiff: Susan Seven-Sky (brought by the American Center for Law and Justice, Jay Sekulow)

District Judge & Court: Gladys Kessler, District of Columbia

District Court Status: The court dismissed the case on Feb. 22, 2011.�� Kessler upheld the individual mandate, writing: “The individual decision to forgo health insurance, when considered in the aggregate, leads to substantially higher insurance premiums for those other individuals who do obtain coverage.” Plaintiff filed an appeal to the D.C. Circuit on March 1, 2011.

Appeals Judges & Court: Brett Kavanaugh (G. W. Bush), Harry Edwards (Carter), Laurence Silberman (Reagan), D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals

Appeals Court Status: On Nov. 8, the appeals court upheld the district court ruling and found the individual mandate constitutional.

Primary Plaintiff: Foundation Hill Tea Party Patriots

District Judge & Court: David K. Duncan, District of Arizona

District Court Status: The court dismissed the case on June 17, 2010 after the plaintiff voluntarily dismissed its case.

Primary Plaintiff: Jeannie Burlsworth, founder and state coordinator of Secure Arkansas

District Judge & Court: Susan Webber Wright, Eastern District of Arkansas

District Court Status: The court dismissed the case on Sept. 8, 2010 after the plaintiff moved to dismiss its case.

Primary Plaintiff: Physician Hospitals of America, Texas Spine & Joint Hospital

District Judge & Court: Michael Schneider, Eastern District of Texas

District Court Status: The court granted the government’s motion to dismiss on March 31, concluding that Congress “did not act unconstitutionally” in limiting physician-owned hospitals from certain activities.�� The plaintiffs filed an appeal to the 5th Circuit on May 27.��The parties have filed briefs for the appeal; oral arguments are not expected before 2012.

COURT DISMISSED FOR LACK OF STANDING OR PROCEDURAL PROBLEMS

Primary Plaintiff: New Jersey Physicians

District Judge & Court: Susan Wigenton, District of New Jersey

District Court Status: The court dismissed the case on Dec. 8, 2010. New Jersey Physicians appealed to the 3rd Circuit. The judge denied the plaintiffs’ argument that the law would prevent physicians from accepting direct payments from patients and that patients would be penalized if they chose not to buy health insurance.

Appeals Judges & Court: Michael Chagares (GW Bush), Kent A. Jordan (GW Bush), Joseph A. Greenaway Jr. (Obama), 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals

Appeals Court Status: On Aug. 3, the three-judge panel upheld the district court ruling that the plaintiffs lack standing.

Primary Plaintiff: Anthony Shreeve (class action filed by Liberty Legal Foundation)

District Judge & Court: Curtis Collier, Eastern District of Tennessee

District Court Status: The court dismissed the case on Nov. 4, 2010. The judge dismissed the argument that there is nothing in the Constitution that gives the federal government authority to regulate health care. The plaintiff refiled the case on Feb. 11 in U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Texas.��

Primary Plaintiff: Steve Baldwin and the Pacific Justice Institute

District Judge & Court: Dana Sabraws, Southern District of California

District Court Status: The court dismissed the suit on Aug. 27. The plaintiff filed an appeal directly to Supreme Court, which sent the case back to 9th Circuit.�� The plaintiff then asked the 9th Circuit for an en banc hearing, which was denied.�� An appeal is still pending.

The plaintiff argued the health care law violates individual rights, increases taxes and violates physician-patient privileges, along with violating the Commerce Clause. The district court ruled that the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring the suit.

Appeals Court: 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

Appeals Court Status: The appeals court heard the case on July 13.�� The appeals judges focused their questions on whether or not the case had standing.��

Primary Plaintiff: Independent American Party of Nevada

District Judge & Court: James Mahan, District of Nevada

District Court Status: The court dismissed the case on March 7 because of lack of action by plaintiff.��

Primary Plaintiff: Harold Peterson

District Judge & Court: Joseph Laplante, District of New Hampshire

District Court Status: The government’s motion to dismiss, which was heard on March 10, was granted by the court “for lack of subject matter jurisdiction” on March 30.

Primary Plaintiff: Nicholas Purpura

District Judge & Court: Freda Wolfson, District of New Jersey

District Court Status: On April 21, Judge Wolfson granted the government’s motion to dismiss the case for lack of standing. The judge said the plaintiffs failed to provide any evidence that they would be “personally effected” by the law.

Primary Plaintiff: Kurt Joseph Van Tassel

District Judge & Court: Thomas Schroeder, Middle District of North Carolina

District Court Status: The court dismissed the case on Dec. 16, 2010 for lack of standing.

Primary Plaintiff: Missouri Lt. Gov Peter Kinder

District Judge & Court: Rodney Sippel, Eastern District of Missouri

District Court Status: The case was dismissed on April 26.�� The plaintiff filed an appeal to the 8th Circuit on May 4.�� Both parties have begun the filing documents as part of the appeals process in the 8th Circuit.�� The government has an August 11 deadline to file its brief.

Kinder argued that Congress can’t require an individual to buy insurance and that the federal government unconstutionally “commandeered” state law by tying federal Medicaid funding to changes in health care law.�� Two amicus briefs were filed on behalf of the plaintiff, one by former solicitor general Paul Clement, who is representing the plaintiffs in Florida vs. HHS.

Appeals Judges & Court: Kermit E. Bye (Clinton), Lavenski R. Smith (GW Bush), Steven M. Colloton (GW Bush), 8th Circuit Court of Appeals

Appeals Court Status: The judges heard arguments on Oct. 20 about the standing of the plaintiffs.��

Primary Plaintiff: Michael David Bellow, Jr.

District Judge & Court: Keith Giblin, Eastern District of Texas

District Court Status: On March 21, Judge Giblin recommended the government’s motion to dismiss the case, because Bellow didn’t provide sufficient evidence of injury or standing. The court dismissed the case on June 18.

COURT DISMISSED BUT GAVE PLAINTIFF RIGHT TO REFILE

–>

COURT DECISION PENDING

Primary Plaintiff: Mississippi Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant and 10 other Mississippians

District Judge & Court: Keith Starrett, Southern District of Mississippi

District Court Status: The court dismissed the case on Feb. 3, 2011 for “lack of standing” concerns. The judge ruled that the plaintiffs didn’t show that their clients would be required to comply with the individual mandate and gave them 30 days to amend and refile their case.��The plaintiffs to the court on March 4, 2011.�� On April 12, the government filed a motion to dismiss the second petition. On Aug. 29, Judge Starrett ruled largely against the government, allowing Bryant the “standing” to sue, as an individual, because of the individual mandate. The judge also refused to dismiss the plaintiffs’ medical privacy claim against the law.��

Primary Plaintiff: Association of American Physicians and Surgeons

District Judge & Court: Amy Berman Jackson, District of Columbia

District Court Status: The government requested an extension of time to respond to the complaint on Jan. 28, 2011. The court is still considering the group’s argument that the government can’t compel people to buy health insurance.

Primary Plaintiff: Kevin Calvey

District Judge & Court: David Russell, Western District of Oklahoma

District Court Status: The plaintiff asked for an extension of time to respond to an Order to Show Cause on Jan. 3, 2011. The former Republican congressional candidate is the lead attorney representing a group that argues they cannot be forced to buy health insurance. The court dismissed three of seven claims but is still considering the remaining four claims, including one challening the individual mandate.�� The court has scheduled an oral hearing for Aug. 2 to consider the remaining claims.

Primary Plaintiff: U.S. Citizens Association

District Judge & Court: David Dowd, Northern District of Ohio

District Court Status: The court agreed on Nov. 22, 2010 to hear a challenge to the health law on four counts, including that the individual mandate violates the Commerce Clause, violates due process and the right to privacy. The judge threw out 3 of the 4 counts on Feb. 28, but continues to consider whether the law violates the Commerce Cause. On March 18, the plaintiffs appealed the dismissal of the three counts to the 6th Circuit.�� Both parties have filed their documents for the appeal.�� The court has yet to schedule oral arguments.

Primary Plaintiff: Matt Sissel (Pacific Legal Foundation)

District Judge & Court: Beryl A. Howell, District of Columbia

District Court Status: The court is considering the government’s motion to dismiss filed on Nov. 15, 2010 and is still considering the plaintiff’s argument that the individual mandate violates the Commerce Clause.�� On June 3, the judge was reassigned. The new presiding judge is Beryl A. Howell.

Primary Plaintiff: Goldwater Institute on behalf of Nick Coons, Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., former Rep.��John Shadegg

District Judge & Court: G. Murray Snow, District of Arizona

District Court Status: The court is considering a motion filed by plaintiffs on Nov. 16, 2010 requesting a preliminary injunction against implementation of the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) in the health law. In addition to arguing that the individual mandate violates the Constitution, the plaintiffs also charge that the IPAB violates the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches. The IPAB is a Medicare cost savings board in the law. On April 18 and May 31, the government filed motions asking the court to dismiss the case.�� On July 7 the plaintiff filed their response defending their standing, and the government responded on July 14.

Primary Plaintiff: State of Oklahoma

District Judge & Court: Judge Ronald White, Eastern District of Oklahoma

District Court Status: Suit filed on Jan. 21, 2011 to challenge the constitutionality of the individual mandate. On March 28, the government filed a motion to dismiss arguing that the state lacks standing to challenge the individual mandate.��

Primary Plaintiff: Arthur Enloe (class action filed by Liberty Legal Foundation)

District Judge & Court: Sam Cummings, Northern District of Texas

District Court Status: Plaintiff says it represents 30,000 individuals and companies that have joined them in their suit charging that the health law is unconstitutional because it violates the 10th Amendment. This case was filed after a similar suit was dismissed in the Eastern District of Tennessee.�� On May 31, the government filed a motion to dismiss the case for lack of standing.�� The plaintiffs responsed on July 7 that they have sufficient standing under the standard used in the 6th Circuit appeal of Thomas More Law Center vs. Obama.

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