Appeals Court To Hear Oral Arguments in Case Against Health Overhaul

On July 13, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in a case that seeks to challenge the federal health reform law, CQ HealthBeat reports.

The Pacific Justice Institute and former California Assembly member Steve Baldwin (R-El Cajon) filed the lawsuit. The plaintiffs allege that the reform law is unconstitutional because it requires the purchase of health insurance and because the law's revenue provisions did not originate in the House of Representatives.

In August 2010, District Judge Dana Sabraw dismissed the case, saying the plaintiffs had no legal right to sue because the law's individual mandate had yet to take effect and the plaintiffs had not demonstrated harm resulting from the law. Pacific Justice Institute and Baldwin appealed Sabraw's decision.

In November 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a direct appeal of the case (Norman, CQ HealthBeat, 6/6). The high court said it dismissed the appeal because the lawsuit had not been fully litigated in lower courts (California Healthline, 11/9/10).