President Obama’s health care reform is facing yet another setback as the debate continues throughout the nation.  On August 12, 2011, a federal appeals court in Atlanta found a ruling that the health insurance mandate is unconstitutional.  This is found in the article “Obamacare Suffers Another Setback” by Robin Wulffson, MD, who reports on health insurance in Los Angeles on Examiner.com.

This decision in Atlanta is a big setback for Congress which has previously appealed a ruling by a lower court judge who fought the entire bill.  The Supreme Court is hoping to have the final say and the White House Spokeswoman, Stephanie Cutter, says they strongly disagree with the decision and they are confident it will not be upheld.  The panel in Atlanta feels strongly that Congress went beyond their Constitutional authority by implementing the health insurance mandate which will require all Americans to carry health insurance or face a fine.

The Affordable Care Act has a basic objective to make health insurance more accessible to Americans with the hopes of decreasing the number of uninsured citizens.  The Atlanta decision points out that a mandate is not necessary to achieve this main objective since many other aspects of the law help to achieve this goal.  This debate is far from over and it’s evident states are trying to take things into their own hands, but while Congress remains firm it may be the objecting states nowhere.

Written by Sam Tabes

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