Cuccinelli will push for Supreme Court hearing of health-care appeal
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said Thursday that Virginia will file a petition to ask the United States Supreme Court to take Virginia’s health care lawsuit without first waiting for review by a federal court of appeals.
“Given the uncertainty caused by the divergent rulings of the various district courts on the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, we feel that it is necessary to seek resolution of this issue as quickly as possible. Currently, state governments and private businesses are being forced to expend enormous amounts of resources to prepare to implement a law that, in the end, may be declared unconstitutional. Regardless of whether you believe the law is constitutional or not, we should all agree that a prompt resolution of this issue is in everyone’s best interest,” Cuccinelli said in a statement.
The move by Cuccinelli has the backing of Gov. Bob McDonnell, who issued this statement on the matter today.
“Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is taking the proper and necessary step in seeking an expedited review of the Virginia health care lawsuit. Immediately following Judge Henry Hudson’s December decision that the individual mandate component of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional, I contacted my fellow governors to seek their support for this course of action. Regardless of where one stands on the issue of the federal health care law, it is imperative that the constitutionality of the matter be settled expeditiously. States, businesses and individuals are already incurring expenses of time and money as they seek to understand and prepare for the implementation of this unprecedented law in 2014. That preparation is taking place at the same time that recent court decisions in both Virginia and Florida are calling into question whether or not this law can withstand judicial review. It is a confusing situation, and there must be clarity and finality on such an important national issue. That finality will only be achieved through a ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States. All other court decisions and reviews prior to that moment will serve simply to exacerbate the uncertainty and continue the delay.
“I thank the Attorney General for moving forward with this action. The Virginia health care case must be heard by the Supreme Court of the United States at the earliest date possible.”
Story by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.
Appeals court expedites hearing of Virginia’s health care lawsuit
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on Wednesday granted a joint motion from Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and the federal government to expedite the hearing of Virginia’s suit against the federal health-care law.
The case is tentatively scheduled for hearing sometime between May 10 and 13. The joint motion replaces a briefing order previously issued by the court.
“Right now, there is a great deal of uncertainty for states, individuals, and businesses. Major decisions are already being made and money is already being spent to comply with a law that may not be around two years from now. We need this suit resolved as quickly as possible, for the good of our citizens and our economy,” Cuccinelli said.
Cuccinelli is still weighing whether or not to request that the U.S. Supreme Court take the case directly and skip the Fourth Circuit altogether.
Edited by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.
House votes to repeal health-care law
The House of Representatives voted 245-189 on Wednesday to pass a resolution to repeal the health-care reform that was signed into law by President Barack Obama last year.
The resolution had been promised by the new Republican leadership in the House. The vote isn’t likely to lead to any effective repeal with a Democratic majority in the Senate and Obama still in the White House, but Republicans still talked up today’s vote as being historic.
“Tonight House Republicans, with my support, delivered on our promise to the American people to hold a vote on legislation that would repeal the Democrats’ sweeping health care reform law. As I have said time and time again, the Democrats’ health care reform law is a monstrosity, which amounts to a big government takeover of our health care system – one that will lead to fewer choices, higher prices and rationed care,” Sixth District Republican Bob Goodlatte said in a statement tonight.
“The Democrats’ health care law raises costs, increases taxes, places burdensome government regulations and mandates on small businesses, and will destroy jobs and hurt our economy. Voting to repeal the government takeover of health care is another way to help foster an economic environment of certainty that will give businesses the confidence necessary to hire and expand,” said Fifth District Republican Robert Hurt, who defeated Democrat Tom Perriello in November in a campaign in which Hurt played up Perriello’s vote for the reform law in the House.
Both Hurt and Goodlatte tried to answer critics who have said that Republicans are doing little other than saying no to reform without offering anything substantive in the face of the health-care cost crisis that preceded last year’s reform.
“This does not mean a return to the status quo. As a co-sponsor of the resolution that instructs committees to develop legislation to replace the Democrats’ health care law with market-oriented solutions, I am committed to finding ways to reduce health care costs and keep quality care while removing the government from the patient-doctor relationship,” Hurt said.
“I will continue working to advance a positive, patient-centered strategy that puts patients, families and doctors, not Washington bureaucrats, in control of personal health care decisions,” said Goodlatte, touting legislative efforts to allow for the purchase of health insurance across state lines and allow individuals and small businesses to join large pools to get more competitive rates, among other GOP-backed ideas.
Story by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.
Two GOP hopefuls pledge fight for health-care repeal
Story by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
Fifth District Republican nomination candidates Robert Hurt and Feda Morton are both saying this week that they would work if elected to Congress to repeal the federal health-care reform signed into law by President Barack Obama on Tuesday.
“I have pledged to the people I’m seeking to represent that not only will I vote against government-run health care, I will seek to roll it back should it become law this year,” said Hurt, a Southside state senator and the early favorite to win the GOP nomination in the Fifth. Continue reading “Two GOP hopefuls pledge fight for health-care repeal” »
Kenneth Ehrenthal: Repeal of health-care law would cost dearly
Posted by afp on January 19, 2011 · Leave a Comment
Health care costs were escalating and many were losing their health insurance. Additionally, insurance companies were increasing their profits by finding new ways of denying coverage due to previous conditions, lifetime caps and denied claims. These were the major reasons for the new law.
The Affordable Care Act solves all of the above problems in the long run. The increase in health care costs will slow down and those who could not previously afford insurance will be able to purchase health insurance through exchanges. Already, thanks to the law, insurance companies are no longer allowed to deny children because of pre-existing conditions or drop people when they get sick; young people are now able to stay on their parents’ insurance until they are 26 years old.
The two main arguments Republicans make to support repeal concern the reduction of the subsidy for Medicare Advantage programs and the requirement that all Americans have health insurance. Both arguments are relatively inconsistent with Republican philosophy and based on inaccurate information.
Health care reform actually strengthens Medicare. It will stop wasteful over payments to the Medicare Advantage program, cuts down on fraud and abuse, reduce out-of-pocket costs and provide seniors with free preventive care visits.
As for the so-called “mandate,” those in favor of repeal seem to ignore the fact that health insurance premiums are artificially high to subsidize those who either cannot afford health insurance or choose not to bother. The average American family pays $1,000 extra in premiums every year to cover the uninsured.
This is about taking personal responsibility, a value that Republicans ought to support.
Filed under Blogs · Tagged with health care reform, health care repeal