A Virginia federal district judge has ruled in favor of the constitutionality of the healthcare reform law.
Ruling Tuesday on a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act by Liberty University and five individuals, Judge Norman Moon said it is constitutional for Congress to require individuals to purchase health insurance or pay a penalty.
Moon said there is "a rational basis for Congress to conclude that individuals' decisions about how and when to pay for healthcare are activities that in the aggregate substantially affect the interstate healthcare market."
Moon said Americans who choose not to purchase health insurance shift the cost of their care to other market participants, driving up the prices of insurance policies.
Since the enactment of health reform legislation in March, several state attorneys general and others opposed to the law have filed lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the ACA. The Liberty University challenge is the second ruling backing the new law. A Michigan judge ruled in favor of its constitutionality in October.
According to Stephanie Cutter, White House Assistant to the President for Special Projects, legal challenges like this are nothing new. "Challenges to the Social Security Act, the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act all failed," she said.
According to Cutter, the cost of providing emergency room care to uninsured individuals totaled $43 billion in 2008, with the burden of that cost borne by doctors, hospitals, insured individuals, taxpayers and small businesses. A recent study found this cost-shift added, on average, $1,100 to family premiums in 2009 and roughly $410 to an individual premium.
"In the weeks ahead, there will be additional court cases examining this matter and the health reform law," Cutter said. "We can't predict the outcome of each case, but we are confident that we will ultimately prevail in court and continue to deliver the benefits of reform to the American people."
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli filed a case earlier this year calling for an injunction of the entire law if the judge finds the individual mandate unconstitutional.
"This case is not about healthcare," he said. "This case is about protecting our liberty."
A similar case was filed by Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum. It is joined by 20 other states as plaintiffs – Arizona, Indiana, Mississippi, Nevada, North Dakota, Alabama, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Georgia, Alaska and Oklahoma.
Judges have not made any final decisions on these cases yet, but some have ruled the cases deserve more time for consideration.