Florida et al v. United States Department of Health and Human Services
Encyclopedia
Florida et al v. United States Department of Health and Human Services (3:10-CV-91-RV/EMT) is a lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida
by the State of Florida
against the United States Department of Health and Human Services
seeking to nullify the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
(PPACA) (part of the United States' 2010 changes to health care
) as unconstitutional. On January 31, 2011, U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson
ruled that the health insurance mandate
in section 1501 falls outside the federal authority in the Constitution
, and that the provision could not be severed; Judge Vinson therefore concluded the entire PPACA must be struck down. On August 12, 2011, a divided three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals
affirmed Judge Vinson's decision in part; the court agreed that the mandate was unconstitutional, but held that it could be severed, allowing the rest of the PPACA to remain. On September 26, 2011, it was reported that the Department of Justice would not ask for an en banc
review by the 11th Circuit, leaving the U.S. Supreme Court as the only option for appeal. The government petitioned for the Supreme Court to review the court's ruling. On November 14, 2011, the Supreme Court granted certiorari
on the case, setting oral arguments for March 2012.
Bill McCollum
on March 23, 2010, hours after the PPACA was signed into law. Joining McCollum were the attorneys general of 12 other states: South Carolina
, Nebraska
, Texas
, Utah
, Louisiana
, Alabama
, Michigan
, Colorado
, Pennsylvania
, Washington, Idaho
and South Dakota
. All states that are currently in the lawsuit have Republican attorneys general except for Iowa
; all have Republican governors except for Washington
and Colorado
.
voted to repeal the law, new Florida Attorney General Pamela Bondi
(R) filed a motion in Pensacola federal court to add six new states to the lawsuit, including Maine
, Wisconsin
, Ohio
, Kansas
, Iowa
and Wyoming
.
The amended complaint currently features 26 state plaintiffs; additionally, the National Federation of Independent Business
(NFIB) joined the lawsuit early on as a co-plaintiff on behalf of its members nationwide.
and Lee Casey of Baker Hostetler
wrote a series of op-ed
s on the constitutionality of the health-care law in The Wall Street Journal
that caught the attention of McCollum. According to Florida deputy Attorney General Joe Jacquot
, the pieces "sparked conversation throughout Mr. McCollum's office on 'state sovereignty and the individual mandate'—the portion of the law that requires all individuals to purchase health insurance".
The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the "individual mandate
", and also challenges Medicaid
expansion, which opponents believe will sink already struggling state budgets.
Two federal judges appointed by President Bill Clinton
upheld the individual mandate in 2010; but a federal judge in Virginia, who was appointed by President George W. Bush
, struck down the individual mandate in December of 2010, although he declined to block the law's implementation.
The Wall Street Journal
called the lawsuit "the most closely watched case in the ongoing political battle over the health-care overhaul".
ruled that the U.S. states could proceed with the lawsuit to overturn the new health care reform law. David Rivkin was hired to represent the plaintiffs. He argued that if the government could regulate individual decisions to not purchase health insurance there could be no meaningful limits on federal power. "Congress can regulate commerce," he said. "But Congress cannot create it."
The government countered that "decisions to not buy insurance, taken in the aggregate, have a direct effect on commerce because uninsured people still consume health care, and often cannot pay; that uncompensated care is subsidized by others and drives up costs for hospitals, governments and privately insured individuals."
Vinson dismissed four of six claims the states brought against the health care law but said he saw grounds to proceed on two counts, including one relating to the way critics say it would force huge new spending by state governments. On the issue of the so-called "individual mandate", the law's provision that all Americans obtain health care insurance, Vinson said the plaintiffs had "most definitely stated a plausible claim" for their objections, noting that "the power that the individual mandate seeks to harness is simply without prior precedent".
According to The Wall Street Journal, Vinson "also noted the difference between regulating an economic activity and attempting to regulate an economic non-activity. Most Commerce Clause cases deal with the former, not the latter." Vinson was quoted as saying:
On December 16, 2010, Judge Vinson heard oral arguments, days after a Virginia judge ruled that the federal government was overstepping its boundaries by requiring Americans to carry health insurance by 2014.
Plaintiffs, led by outside counsel Rivkin, argued that expansion of Medicaid would overwhelm state budgets; they also argued "the mandatory coverage provision exceeds the legislative authority of the U.S. Congress to regulate interstate commerce by attempting to control the inaction of the uninsured."
Government lawyer Ian Heath Gershengorn
countered that the $2.5 trillion national health care market was unlike anything else; that those who weren't purchasing insurance were making the economic decision to pay later or shift the cost (the "uninsured are not inactive … this is not a situation of innocent bystanders standing to the side").
In a Wall Street Journal article, Rivkin called the law "in its design, the most profoundly unconstitutional statute in American history; in its execution, one of the most incompetent ones".
In summary, Vinson stated "Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire Act must be declared void." This decision invalidates not only the requirement of purchasing health care, but the entire Act as signed. The Justice Department expressed its intention to file an appeal with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
In publishing his opinion, Vinson did not grant an injunction barring implementation of the Act, stating that such a step is unnecessary because there is a "long-standing presumption" that the federal government would adhere to such a ruling without need for an injunction. However, a senior White House official stated that, in the absence of an injunction, "implementation will proceed apace".
United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida is the federal United States district court with jurisdiction over the northern part of the state of Florida....
by the State of Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
against the United States Department of Health and Human Services
United States Department of Health and Human Services
The United States Department of Health and Human Services is a Cabinet department of the United States government with the goal of protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is "Improving the health, safety, and well-being of America"...
seeking to nullify the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is the principal health care reform legislation of the 111th United States Congress...
(PPACA) (part of the United States' 2010 changes to health care
Health care reform in the United States
Health care reform in the United States has a long history, of which the most recent results were two federal statutes enacted in 2010: the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act , signed March 23, 2010, and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 , which amended the PPACA and...
) as unconstitutional. On January 31, 2011, U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson
Roger Vinson
Clyde Roger Vinson is a senior federal judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida.-Life and career:...
ruled that the health insurance mandate
Health insurance mandate
A health insurance mandate is either an employer or individual mandate to obtain private health insurance, instead of a National Health Service or National Health Insurance.-United States:...
in section 1501 falls outside the federal authority in the Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
, and that the provision could not be severed; Judge Vinson therefore concluded the entire PPACA must be struck down. On August 12, 2011, a divided three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Middle District of Alabama...
affirmed Judge Vinson's decision in part; the court agreed that the mandate was unconstitutional, but held that it could be severed, allowing the rest of the PPACA to remain. On September 26, 2011, it was reported that the Department of Justice would not ask for an en banc
En banc
En banc, in banc, in banco or in bank is a French term used to refer to the hearing of a legal case where all judges of a court will hear the case , rather than a panel of them. It is often used for unusually complex cases or cases considered to be of greater importance...
review by the 11th Circuit, leaving the U.S. Supreme Court as the only option for appeal. The government petitioned for the Supreme Court to review the court's ruling. On November 14, 2011, the Supreme Court granted certiorari
Certiorari
Certiorari is a type of writ seeking judicial review, recognized in U.S., Roman, English, Philippine, and other law. Certiorari is the present passive infinitive of the Latin certiorare...
on the case, setting oral arguments for March 2012.
Litigants
The case was brought by Florida attorney generalAttorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
Bill McCollum
Bill McCollum
Ira William "Bill" McCollum, Jr. is a former Florida Attorney General. A Republican, he was Florida's 36th attorney general, taking office in 2007...
on March 23, 2010, hours after the PPACA was signed into law. Joining McCollum were the attorneys general of 12 other states: South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, Washington, Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
and South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
. All states that are currently in the lawsuit have Republican attorneys general except for Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
; all have Republican governors except for Washington
Washington State
Washington State may refer to:* Washington , often referred to as "Washington state" to differentiate it from Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States* Washington State University, a land-grant college in that state- See also :...
and Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
.
More states join the lawsuit
On January 19, 2011, the same day the HouseUnited States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
voted to repeal the law, new Florida Attorney General Pamela Bondi
Pam Bondi
Pamela Jo Bondi is the current Attorney General of Florida.-Early life and education:Bondi's hometown is Temple Terrace, Florida. Her father, Joseph Bondi, was a City Councilman and then Mayor of Temple Terrace. She is a graduate of C. Leon King High School in Tampa, Florida...
(R) filed a motion in Pensacola federal court to add six new states to the lawsuit, including Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
and Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
.
The amended complaint currently features 26 state plaintiffs; additionally, the National Federation of Independent Business
National Federation of Independent Business
The National Federation of Independent Business is a lobbying organization with its headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee and offices in Washington, D.C. USA, and in all 50 state capitals...
(NFIB) joined the lawsuit early on as a co-plaintiff on behalf of its members nationwide.
Background
In September 2009, Washington lawyers David B. Rivkin Jr.David B. Rivkin
David B. Rivkin Jr., is an American attorney, political writer and media commentator on matters of constitutional and international law, as well as foreign and defense policy...
and Lee Casey of Baker Hostetler
Baker Hostetler
Baker Hostetler is an American law firm based in Cleveland, Ohio and founded in 1916. One of the firm's founders, Newton D. Baker, was U.S. Secretary of War during World War I and former Mayor of Cleveland....
wrote a series of op-ed
Op-ed
An op-ed, abbreviated from opposite the editorial page , is a newspaper article that expresses the opinions of a named writer who is usually unaffiliated with the newspaper's editorial board...
s on the constitutionality of the health-care law in The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
that caught the attention of McCollum. According to Florida deputy Attorney General Joe Jacquot
Joe Jacquot
Joseph W. “Joe” Jacquot is Deputy Attorney General of the State of Florida and Chief of Staff for Attorney General Bill McCollum. He successfully argued the landmark Miranda warning case Florida v. Powell before the United States Supreme Court. He previously served as the Deputy Chief Counsel for...
, the pieces "sparked conversation throughout Mr. McCollum's office on 'state sovereignty and the individual mandate'—the portion of the law that requires all individuals to purchase health insurance".
The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the "individual mandate
Health insurance mandate
A health insurance mandate is either an employer or individual mandate to obtain private health insurance, instead of a National Health Service or National Health Insurance.-United States:...
", and also challenges Medicaid
Medicaid
Medicaid is the United States health program for certain people and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and is managed by the states. People served by Medicaid are U.S. citizens or legal permanent...
expansion, which opponents believe will sink already struggling state budgets.
Two federal judges appointed by President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
upheld the individual mandate in 2010; but a federal judge in Virginia, who was appointed by President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, struck down the individual mandate in December of 2010, although he declined to block the law's implementation.
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
called the lawsuit "the most closely watched case in the ongoing political battle over the health-care overhaul".
Court decisions in the case
On October 14, 2010, U.S. District Judge Roger VinsonRoger Vinson
Clyde Roger Vinson is a senior federal judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida.-Life and career:...
ruled that the U.S. states could proceed with the lawsuit to overturn the new health care reform law. David Rivkin was hired to represent the plaintiffs. He argued that if the government could regulate individual decisions to not purchase health insurance there could be no meaningful limits on federal power. "Congress can regulate commerce," he said. "But Congress cannot create it."
The government countered that "decisions to not buy insurance, taken in the aggregate, have a direct effect on commerce because uninsured people still consume health care, and often cannot pay; that uncompensated care is subsidized by others and drives up costs for hospitals, governments and privately insured individuals."
Vinson dismissed four of six claims the states brought against the health care law but said he saw grounds to proceed on two counts, including one relating to the way critics say it would force huge new spending by state governments. On the issue of the so-called "individual mandate", the law's provision that all Americans obtain health care insurance, Vinson said the plaintiffs had "most definitely stated a plausible claim" for their objections, noting that "the power that the individual mandate seeks to harness is simply without prior precedent".
According to The Wall Street Journal, Vinson "also noted the difference between regulating an economic activity and attempting to regulate an economic non-activity. Most Commerce Clause cases deal with the former, not the latter." Vinson was quoted as saying:
On December 16, 2010, Judge Vinson heard oral arguments, days after a Virginia judge ruled that the federal government was overstepping its boundaries by requiring Americans to carry health insurance by 2014.
Plaintiffs, led by outside counsel Rivkin, argued that expansion of Medicaid would overwhelm state budgets; they also argued "the mandatory coverage provision exceeds the legislative authority of the U.S. Congress to regulate interstate commerce by attempting to control the inaction of the uninsured."
Government lawyer Ian Heath Gershengorn
Ian Heath Gershengorn
Ian Heath Gershengorn is an American lawyer who currently is a deputy assistant attorney general in the United States Department of Justice's Civil Division.- Early life and education :...
countered that the $2.5 trillion national health care market was unlike anything else; that those who weren't purchasing insurance were making the economic decision to pay later or shift the cost (the "uninsured are not inactive … this is not a situation of innocent bystanders standing to the side").
In a Wall Street Journal article, Rivkin called the law "in its design, the most profoundly unconstitutional statute in American history; in its execution, one of the most incompetent ones".
Vinson's decision
On January 31, 2011, Judge Vinson issued an opinion finding that:- MedicaidMedicaidMedicaid is the United States health program for certain people and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and is managed by the states. People served by Medicaid are U.S. citizens or legal permanent...
expansion is not coercive to the States - Failing to buy health insurance is not an act of interstate commerce
- The Necessary and Proper Clause does not allow Congress to impose an individual mandate, and
- The individual mandate is not severableSeverabilityIn law, severability refers to a provision in a contract which states that if parts of the contract are held to be illegal or otherwise unenforceable, the remainder of the contract should still apply...
from the rest of PPACA.
In summary, Vinson stated "Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire Act must be declared void." This decision invalidates not only the requirement of purchasing health care, but the entire Act as signed. The Justice Department expressed its intention to file an appeal with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
In publishing his opinion, Vinson did not grant an injunction barring implementation of the Act, stating that such a step is unnecessary because there is a "long-standing presumption" that the federal government would adhere to such a ruling without need for an injunction. However, a senior White House official stated that, in the absence of an injunction, "implementation will proceed apace".
11th Circuit decision
On August 12, 2011, a divided three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Judge Vinson's decision in part: the court agreed that the mandate was unconstitutional, but held that it could be severed, allowing the rest of the PPACA to remain.Supreme Court
On September 26, 2011, it was reported that the Department of Justice would not ask for an en banc review by the 11th Circuit. This means the Supreme Court will hear the case in early 2012 and rule in the midst of the 2012 election season. On November 14, 2011 the United States Supreme Court Granted Cert to hear the case. The question to be addressed is "Whether Congress had the power under Article I of the Constitution to enact the minimum coverage provision."External links
- Vinson, Roger (January 30, 2011), "State of Florida vs. United States Department of Health and Human Services"