Your New Doctor
Federal Judge Henry E. Hudson ruled Monday that the provision requiring people to buy health insurance violates the Commerce and General Welfare clauses. He called for the provision to be severed, but allowed the rest of the law to remain intact.
While two other cases were heard by Federal judges who ruled in favor of the law, this is the first case in which a state filed a lawsuit. Some who back Virginia’s suit have called for the case to go directly to the Supreme Court, skipping the appeals court level. However, the Justice Department said it wants to see the case through the entire appeals process.
The U.S. Justice Department said the insurance mandate falls within the scope of the federal government’s authority under the Commerce Clause. But Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli said deciding not to buy insurance was an economic matter outside the government’s domain.
Dissenters are concerned about the broader issue of personal freedom. If the government can force individuals to buy a certain product where will it end? Already Michelle Obama’s war on obesity is leading to the possibility of government mandates about what children can and cannot eat in school.
The first thing the administration is likely to do in response to the ruling is push hard to write regulations and implement the law as fast as it can. Once implemented, regulations would be harder to reverse. Bureaucratic regulations can achieve the same goal while circumventing congress.
This is only the first shot in a barrage of attacks that will be brought to bear on the health care bill.
