Obama, DoJ urge Supreme Court to hear healthcare reform case

Image source: www.whitehouse.gov

President Barack Obama has asked the Supreme Court to hear a case concerning the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The Department of Justice (DoJ) also filed a cert petition asking the Supreme Court to review the two-to-one decision of the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit striking down the PPACA.

“The Department [of Justice] has consistently and successfully defended this law in several court of appeals, and only the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled it unconstitutional. We believe the question is appropriate for review by the Supreme Court," read a statement from the DoJ. "We believe the challenges to Affordable Care Act—like the one in the Eleventh Circuit—will also ultimately fail and that the Supreme Court will uphold the law."

Although the constitutionality of the act has been upheld in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled against the act’s individual responsibility provision.

“We strongly disagree with their decision,” Stephanie Cutter, assistant to the President and deputy senior advisor, wrote in a White House blog posting Sept. 28.

According to the post, the President is requesting the federal court to hear the case to “put these challenges to rest and continue moving forward implementing the law to lower the cost of healthcare and make it more secure for Americans.”

"We hope the Supreme Court takes up the case," wrote Cutter.