May It Please the Court

1. May It Please the Court Understanding the Supreme Court Case Concerning the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

2. Background of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act • Passed by Congress in 2010 • Goal—to increase the number of Americans with health insurance and lower health care costs • Key Disputed Provisions • Individual Mandates • Individuals required to buy insurance from employer or a private company • Punishment for non-compliance is a penalty to IRS similar to tax penalties • Expansion of Medicaid funding to states to cover those with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level • Increases the number now covered • States required to accept new coverage or lose all Medicaid funds

3. Three Issues the Court Had to Address • Does Congress have the constitutional authority under the commerce clause and the “necessary and proper” clause of Article I, Section 8 to pass the “individual mandate” provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act? • Does Congress have the constitutional authority under its power to tax to pass “the individual mandate” provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act? • Does Congress have the constitutional authority to require the states in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to expand Medicaid coverage and threaten the states with the loss of all Medicaid funding if they do not comply?

4. Learning Stations on Arguments • Paraphrase the argument on the station. • Decide if it is an argument that supports the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or does not support one or all parts of the law. • Explain the reason for your choice of answers.

5. Debriefing Question for Exit Slip Based on the nine opinions, select the one with which you personally agree. Paraphrase it in your own words and then use it as the basis of how you personally would have decided the case. Include your reasoning as support for your answer.