Health Affairs

It’s finally over.  After nearly six hours of oral argument over the course of three days, the two cases challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act have been officially submitted to the Justices for decision.

The much-anticipated argument over the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act’s insurance centerpiece, the minimum coverage requirement or “individual mandate,” took place Tuesday morning.   It was an entertaining but messy affair, with several individuals often speaking at once and answers to questions frequently getting lost in subsequent comments and inquiries.   Analogies buzzed dangerously around the... Read the rest of this entry »

Day One of the oral arguments in the constitutional challenge to the Affordable Care Act put the Supreme Court’s many strengths on display.  Everyone came prepared, including the nine Justices, and presented their cases and questions cogently and persuasively.  Tim Jost’s outstanding blog post provides a detailed description and in-depth analysis of the Court’s discussion... Read the rest of this entry »

The recent CMS bulletin on the essential benefits package (EBP) required for certain types of coverage under the Affordable Care Act has been described in greater detail in earlier Health Affairs Blog posts by Tim Jost and Kavita Patel.  The bulletin is a pragmatic document, seemingly driven by the overall exigency of implementing the ACA... Read the rest of this entry »

Significant steps are being taken to implement the Affordable Care Act (ACA) even as the challenges to its constitutionality make their way through the federal courts.  For example, the Institute of Medicine recently released its much-anticipated report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services on the principles and methods that should guide the design... Read the rest of this entry »

Having both medical and law degrees typecasts me.  New acquaintances ask if I have ever sued myself.  Within the health policy community, colleagues assume I study medical malpractice. So I have let it become a self-fulfilling prophecy.  I worked on medical malpractice in the Clinton White House, and devoted my first scholarly efforts to analyzing... Read the rest of this entry »

One of my own professors, Lawrence Friedman, was fond of quoting Finley Peter Dunne’s rough-hewn character “Mr. Dooley,” who delighted early 20th century readers with his blunt commentary on current events.  Mr. Dooley once observed that, no matter whether Americans “follow th’ flag” or not, “th’ Supreme Coort follows th’ election returns.” We’re likely to... Read the rest of this entry »

Editor’s Note: Below, William Sage analyzes Friday’s federal appellate court decision regarding the Affordable Care Act. See Timothy Jost’s earlier post for more on this decision. On August 12, a divided three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled in State of Florida v. Sibelius that the individual mandate contained... Read the rest of this entry »