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Dayton Business Journal...
Federal judge rules
health reform legal
Ramifications will be felt locally
by Kathy Robertson, DBJ Contributor
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
A federal judge has ruled the health care reform law is constitutional.
In a new ruling, a federal judge Tuesday decided the health care reform
law is constitutional, tipping the record to three in favor of the
Affordable Care Act to two against.
Judge Gladys Kessler in the District of Columbia dismissed a lawsuit
filed by a group of individuals who claimed the government has no right
to impose an individual mandate to buy insurance or pay a fee to the
government.
Congress has made it clear the intent of the law is to achieve
near-universal coverage, Kessler writes in her opinion. The individual
mandate is the “least restrictive” means of doing this, she added.
“In the absence of the requirement, some individuals would make an
economic and financial decision to forego health insurance coverage and
attempt to self-insure, which increases financial risks to households
and providers,” Kessler quotes from the act.
When pressed during oral argument in the case to name a less
restrictive way to lower health insurance premiums or otherwise improve
access to care, “plaintiffs could not do so,” Kessler states in the
opinion.
“We welcome the ruling, which marks the third time a court has reviewed
the Affordable Care Act on the merits and upheld it as constitutional,”
Tracy Schmaler, a spokeswoman with the Department of Justice said in a
news release.
“This court found — as two others have previously — that the minimum
coverage provision of the statute was a reasonable measure for Congress
to take in reforming our health care system,” she added.
Two other federal court judges have ruled against the law as an
unconstitutional overreach of power, but several trial courts have
dismissed challenges to the act. Sources on all sides expect the matter
to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. The law was championed by
President Barack Obama and criticized by Republicans.
“The Department will continue to vigorously defend this law in ongoing
litigation,” Schmaler said.
Consumers and small businesses in Ohio will face significantly higher
insurance premiums and could see coverage denials and price
discrimination if the federal health care law is repealed, a research
group said recently.
Small business owners are worried about the rising health care costs
and the price of implementing new reform rules. Many Republicans in
Congress, including House Speaker John Boehner of Butler County, are
against the law and want to change or repeal it.
Regardless of what happens, there are many large companies that have a
big stake in whether the law is repealed, changed or kept as was passed.
UnitedHealthcare parent UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) — which has
a regional headquarters in West Chester that serves both Dayton and
Cincinnati — and Anthem parent WellPoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP) are among
those that have already started implementing some aspects of the reform.
Other large companies that could be affected include drug makers
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE),
GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK), AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN), Merck &
Company (NYSE: MRK) and Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY), which is based
in Indianapolis.
Both Bayer AG and Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) have operations in
Ohio, while many of the drugmakers employ sales reps throughout the
Dayton region.
Read the story with links in Dayton Business Journal
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