Articles and Speeches
Much Ado About Doing Nothing: Healthcare Reform Litigation Changes Congressional Power to Regulate Inactivity
March 2, 2011
Rebekah N. Plowman
, Julie Barnes
As appeared in the American Health Lawyers Association's Healthcare Liability & Litigation Health Briefs.
Before the ink was dry on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA),1 opponents of the law began filing lawsuits challenging its constitutionality. Although it is easy to lose track of the more than twenty separate challenges on healthcare reform filed in federal district courts across the country, two high-profile cases are most likely to weave their way to the United States Supreme Court.2 While the political motivations of these cases appear clear, the novel constitutional issue involving the broad-sweeping social policy change inherent in PPACA should not be taken lightly—particularly with a newly constructed and conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court.
