Before the ink from President Obama's signature was dry on the landmark health care reform law, opponents across the country had begun a campaign to use the courts to do what they couldn't do through legislative means: undermine the new law. ACS created this page as a resource to track that the Affordable Care Act and the challanged to the health care reform law and resources about the law's constitutionality. On June 28, 2012 the Supreme Court ruled to uphold the Affordable Care Act's integral "minimum coverage provision."
For the Supreme Court ruling on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, click here.
For reactions from ACS experts on the ruling click here.
For audio from the ACS Media briefing on the case click here.
For information on cases involving the Affordable Care Act not before the Supreme Court, click here.
Recommended Resources
Issue Briefs | Panel Discussions (Video) | Press Briefings (Audio) | Video Podcasts | ACS Experts in the News | ACSblog Guest Posts | Recent ACSblog Coverage | Other Resources
Issue Briefs
- "The Health Care Lawsuits: Unraveling A Century of Constitutional Law and The Fabric of Modern American Government," by Simon Lazarus
- "Mandatory Health Insurance - Is It Constitutional?" by Simon Lazarus
Panel Discussions (Video)
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ACS 2012 National Convention Panel After Oral Arguments: The Supreme Court and the Affordable Care Act featuring Walter Dellinger , Adam Liptak and Stephen G. Bradbury (June 16, 2012)
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| National Event - The Aftermath: The Supreme Court and the Affordable Care Act featuring Caroline Fredrickson, Walter Dellinger, Douglas Gansler and Maya Wiley (Mar. 29, 2012) |  |
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ACS 2011 Convention Panel - National Power to Address the Nation's Problems: The Constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act featuring Randy E. Barnett, Walter Dellinger, Dawn Johnsen, Walter Kamiat, Simon Lazarus, and Neera Tanden (Jun. 18, 2011) |
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National Event - Keynote Address: Progress Imperiled?: The Health Care Law, Its Implementation, & Constitutional Challenges featuring Sen. Tom Daschle (Mar. 3, 2011)
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National Event - Panel Discussion: Progress Imperiled?: The Health Care Law, Its Implementation, & Constitutional Challenges featuring Julie Rover, Walter Dellinger, Simon Lazarus, Ilya Somin, and Neera Tanden (Mar. 3, 2011) |
| ACS 2010 Convention Panel - Healthcare After Reform: Opportunities, Implementation, and Challenges featuring Simon Lazarus, Neera Tanden, Lisalyn R. Jacobs, Judith L. Lichtman, Randy E. Barnet, and Jack M. Balkin (Jun. 18, 2010) |  |
Press Briefings (Audio)
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Walter Dellinger and Dawn Johnsen comment on a decision by the Fourth Circuit (Sept. 8, 2011). Click here for audio.
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Geoffrey R. Stone and Timothy Jost discuss a decision by the Eleventh Circuit (Aug. 19, 2011). Click here for audio.
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Walter Dellinger comments on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (Mar. 22, 2011). Click here for audio.
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Neera Tanden, Timothy Jost, and Simon Lazarus speak to the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (Oct. 14, 2010). Click here for audio.
Video Podcasts
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The National Senior Citizens Law Center Publuc Policy Counsel Simon Lazarus on State Lawsuits Against Health Care Reform Law (Jun. 18, 2010) |
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ACS Experts in the News
- Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler’s participation in an ACS debriefing of the health care law’s oral arguments is featured by Politico.
- The Government Media Executive Group quotes from Walter Dellinger’s comments at an ACS debriefing of the case’s oral arguments. (Mar. 29, 2012)
- ACS President Caroline Fredrickson appears on “The Thom Hartmann Show” to discuss health care. (Mar. 28, 2012)
- TPM quotes from comments made by Simon Lazarus on ACSblog on the constitutionality of the health care law. (Mar. 28, 2012)
- The Huffington Post publishes a defense of the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act by ACS President Caroline Fredrickson. (Mar. 28, 2012)
- Simon Lazarus defends the constitutionality of the health care law in The Washington Times.(Mar. 27, 2012)
- ACS President Caroline Fredrickson spars with Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly on “The O’Reilly Factor” to discuss the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. (Mar. 26, 2012)
- ACS President Caroline Fredrickson discusses the health care case on “The Jack Rice Show.” (Mar. 26, 2012)
- The New York Times mentions ACS’s work around the upcoming Supreme Court cases on health care. (Mar. 25, 2012)
- ABC News quotes Walter Dellinger’s preview of the outcome of the Supreme Court case on health care reform. (Mar. 14, 2012)
- Walter Dellinger and Neal Katyal preview the case that will determine the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. (Sept. 15, 2011)
- BNA quotes Walter Dellinger in reaction to the decision of the 4th Circuit. (Sept. 9, 2011)
- The Des Moines Register publishes an op-ed by Drake University Law Professor and ACS Student Chapter Advisor Mark Kende. (Aug. 25, 2011)
- CQ quotes Professor Timothy Jost's comments from an ACS briefing on the Eleventh Circuit's recent health care decision. (Aug. 19, 2011)
- PBS features Simon Lazarus after the 11th Circuit health care decision struck down the individual mandate. (Aug. 12, 2011)
- Dawn Johnsen blogs for SCOTUSblog about the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. (Aug. 3, 2011)
- Simon Lazarus writes an opinion piece for Slate on the “individual mandate” contained in Paul Ryan’s budget plan. The Washington Post’s Ezra Klein summarizes and expands on Lazarus’s article. (May 3, 2011)
- NPR, The Washington Post, Daily Kos, and The Huffington Post feature Timothy Jost's comments on a decision by a federal district judge in Virginia. (Dec. 13, 2010)
- A USA Today article on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act quotes participants in a recent ACS panel discussion on the subject. (Apr. 13, 2011)
- Simon Lazarus and Timothy Jost argue against an expedited Supreme Court decision on the health care reform law in Slate. (Feb. 25, 2011)
- In The Huffington Post, Simon Lazarus examines the political balance in the courts as the debate over health care progresses. (Jul. 16, 2010)
- Ohio Attorney General Richard Corday defends his decision not to join a lawsuit challenging the healthcare reform bill in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. (Apr. 4, 2010)
- The Washington Post's Ezra Klein praises Simon Lazarus's ACS Issue Brief on the constitutionality of health care reform. (Mar. 24, 2010)
ACSblog Guest Coverage
- Steven D. Schwinn: Moving Forward to the Past (Mar. 30, 2012)
- Rebecca Brown, a law professor at the University of Southern California: What the Solicitor General Should have Said to Justice Scalia (Mar. 30, 2012)
- Sanford Levinson, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin: Why Political Progressives Need to Think About the Entire Constitution (Mar. 29, 2012)
- Fazal Khan: The Roberts Court Dangerously Close to Eroding Institution’s Credibility (Mar. 29, 2012)
- Sergio Eduardo Muñoz: This Is Going to be Close and Ugly: Health Care Reform at the Supreme Court (Mar. 28, 2012)
- Adam Winkler: Two Days, No Surprises (Mar. 27, 2012)
- Alan B. Morrison, Associate Dean and a law professor at the George Washington University: Opening Day on the Affordable Care Act (Mar. 26, 2012)
- Sara Rosenbaum: What Hangs in the Balance (Mar. 23, 2012)
- Timothy Jost, a law professor at Washington and Lee University: What’s at Stake in SCOTUS Review of Medicaid Program (Mar. 22, 2012)
- Sergio Eduardo Muñoz:Health Care Reform Coercion: Unique Until It Isn't (Mar. 21, 2012)
- Doug Kendall, the president at the Constitutional Accountability Center: The Constitution at a Crossroads: The Ideological Battle over the Meaning of the Constitution (Mar. 14, 2012)
- Sergio Eduardo Muñoz: The Challenges to Health Care Reform: A Dangerous New Chapter in an Old Story (Dec. 19, 2011)
- Fazal Khan, a law professor at the University of Georgia specializing in health law: Why Justice Kennedy Will Vote to Uphold the Health Care Reform Law (Nov. 14, 2011)
- Reuben Guttmanand Oderah Nwaeze,attorneys at Grant & Eisenhofer: Missing an Opportunity to Protect Patients and Save Dollars (Oct. 18, 2011)
- Simon Lazarus: In Under-Reported D.C. Circuit Oral Argument, Prominent Republican Judges Suggest Novel Arguments for Upholding Health Care Law's Individual Mandate(Sept. 26, 2011)
- Simon Lazarus: Potent Support for the Affordable Care Act Mandate From an Improbable Source(Jun. 30, 2011)
- Ian Bartrum, a law professor at Drake University: Why the Health Care Law's 'Individual Mandate' Matters, and is Constitutional (Mar. 24, 2011)
- Sara Rosenbaum, a professor of health law and policy and chair of the Department of Health Policy at The George Washington University: The Affordable Care Act and the Poor (Mar. 23, 2011)
- Adam Winkler: Popular Constitutionalism, Originalism, and the Individual Mandate (Mar. 23, 2011)
- Adam Winkler: Republicans’ Latest Effort to Circumvent the Constitution: Interstate Compacts(Mar. 10, 2011)
- Simon Lazarus: Legal Arguments Against Health Care Law Take Aim at Other Landmark Laws and Programs, Issue Brief Says (Feb. 8, 2011)
- Steve Vladeck and Amanda Frost, law professors at American University Washington College of Law: The Legal and Logical Fallacies of Judge Vinson’s Severability Analysis (Feb. 8, 2011)
- Kathrine Jack, an attorney in Greenfield, Indiana:Some State Lawmakers Advancing So-Called ‘Nullification’ Measures to Scuttle Health Care Reform (Feb. 3, 2011)
- Adam Winkler, a law professor at the University of California Los Angeles: Fla. Health Care Decision Reads Crucial Clause out of Constitution(Feb. 1, 2011)
- Simon Lazarus: In Today’s Health Care Ruling, a Whiff of Bush v. Gore (Jan. 31, 2011)
- Rochelle Bobroff, of the National Senior Citizens Law Center: Only Two Votes on Supreme Court to Extend Limits on Commerce Clause? (Jan. 10, 2011)
- Erin Louise Palmer, a law professor at American University Washington College of Law: Kagan's Nomination Hearings: An Opportunity to Discuss More Than Health Care Reform (Jun. 14, 2010)
- Steven D. Schwinn, professor at The John Marshall Law School: Analysis of Federal Court Decision in Va. Health Care Challenge: Constitutional Creep in Virginia v. Sebelius (Aug. 6, 2010)
- Simon Lazarusand Sergio Muñoz of the National Senior Citizens Law Center: Analysis of Procedural Ruling That Rejected Motion to Dismiss Virginia’s Challenge to Health Care Reform Law (Aug. 3, 2010)
Recent ACSblog Coverage
- A Costly, Exclusive Health Care Market, do the High Court’s Conservatives Understand It? (Apr. 4, 2012)
- How Activist is the Roberts Court? (Apr. 2, 2012)
- Conservative Justices’ Troubling Understanding of Health Care Market (Mar. 30, 2012)
- Oh, Really, O’Reilly? (Mar. 30, 2012)
- Will Conservative Majority Expand Supreme Court’s Power, and Trash Health Care Reform? (Mar. 28, 2012)
- Court-Watchers Tell Us Health Care Law’s Integral Provision Appears in Trouble (Mar. 27, 2012)
- Looking Back: Former Bush Solicitor General Charles Fried on the Clear Constitutionality of the Individual Coverage Provision (Mar. 26, 2012)
- Private Challengers of Health Care Law: Congress is ‘Corrupt,’ Law is ‘Unprecedented’ (Mar. 26, 2012)
- Right-Wing Policy Makers Attack Health Care Reform, But Embrace Mandatory Ultrasounds for Women (Mar. 23, 2012)
- Pushing Back Against the Wobbly, But Effective Health Care Law Scare Tactics (Mar. 22, 2012)
- SCOTUS Rejects Live Broadcast of Health Care Arguments, But Will Release Audio Each Day (Mar. 16, 2012)
- Majority of Legal Experts Predict Supreme Court Will Uphold Health Care Law (Mar. 16, 2012)
- Health Care Reform: The Centrality of the Individual Mandate (Mar. 15, 2012)
- The Radical Libertarian Argument Against Health Care Reform (Mar. 9, 2012)
For more ACSblog coverage, click here.
Other Resources
- The ACA Litigation Blog
- Supreme Court Page: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
- The Department of Justice Page: Defending the Affordable Care Act
- Kaiser Health News' Scoreboard: Tracking Health Law Court Challenges