US courts deal health reform two hefty blows

President Obama’s Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act has received another setback
with a ruling by Federal judge Roger Vinson in the state of Florida
that it is unconstitutional.

The judge’s decision prompted
Florida’s insurance commissioner Kevin McCarty to declare that the
act was not in effect in the state.

Vinson became the second
federal judge to rule that it is unconstitutional to force
individuals to buy health insurance, a fundamental part of Obama’s
health reform strategy. This mandate of the act is due to come into
force in 2014,

Meanwhile in the US, Senate
Democrats have narrowly defeated a move (by 51 votes to 47) by
Republican senators to have the act repealed.

But the saga is unlikely to
end there. The US media is rife with speculation that the final
decision will be taken by the US Supreme Court in 2012.

Notably the first judge to
declare the act unconstitutional, Henry Hudson of Virginia, wrote
at the time of his ruling in December 2010: “The outcome of this
case has significant public policy implications and the final word
will undoubtedly reside with a higher court.”

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