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Health Care Reform Update:  Florida Judge Rules PPACA Unconstitutional and More...

 

It has been a busy week for health care reform.  First, in an unsurprising decision, a Florida court judge ruled the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) unconstitutional.  Second, the Senate voted against repeal of the law.  Third, we saw the Senate vote to eliminate the 1099 reporting requirement from the health reform law.  And, the National Academy of Social Insurance issued a report on considerations for the States in designing their health insurance exchanges as well as a toolkit to aid in policy development.

Following is more information on the major headlines.   

Florida Judge Rules PPACA Unconstitutional

In a decision issued Monday, January 31st, Judge Roger Vinson, declared the whole of the PPACA unconstitutional.  His decision is significant because there are 26 states filed as joint plaintiffs with Florida in the lawsuit against the United States Department of Health and Human Services.  Judge Vinson's decision is based on the individual coverage mandate.

In December, a Virginia district Court Judge found the mandate unconstitutional but not essential to the rest of the law.  Vinson found the mandate necessary to the act and not severable.  Therefore, he was required to rule the entire act unconstitutional. 

No matter which side of the debate you are on, his brief is an interesting read.  In his brief, he exerts that it is difficult to imagine that the Framers who wrote the Constitution and were so opposed to a monopoly held by the East India Company and a tax on tea would actually require citizens to by tea.  If you are so inclined, click here to view the entire brief or go to http://www.scribd.com/doc/47909640/vinsonruling1-31-11

Senate Votes against Repeal of PPACA, but Votes for 1099 Reporting Change

On Wednesday, the Senate voted against repeal of health care reform.  The vote followed party lines 51-47.  All 50 Democrats who were present and 1 Independent voted against repeal.  All Republicans voted for repeal. 

There was one small change to PPACA that has bipartisan support.  In a vote 81-17, the Senate voted to eliminate the 1099 reporting requirement contained in the law.  The piece of the law requires businesses to file a 1099 when they pay a vendor $600 or more in a year.  President Obama has already indicated he would sign a bill approving the measure. 

 

For more information on any of these topics, please contact your HORAN account representative.    

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