Parties in PPACA Review Suit Agree on One Thing: Faster is Better
The United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta has granted the U.S. Justice Department’s request to expedite its appeal of Judge Roger C. Vinson’s January 31 holding that PPACA is unconstitutional. The Justice Department’s request followed Judge Vinson’s decision on March 3, in which the judge clarified that he intended his January 31 holding to be the practical equivalent of an injunction as to implementation of PPACA but offered to stay his ruling as long as an appeal to the 11th Circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court was filed within a week.
Parties on both sides have now moved for quick review of the ruling. A group of GOP state governors sent a February 9 letter to President Obama and the Justice Department that requested swift appeals of all pending cases regarding PPACA. The letter stated that “[g]iven the daunting and costly financial and regulatory burdens that our states and the private sector will face in implementing PPACA over the coming years, particularly during this unprecedented budgetary time, public interest requires expediting a final resolution of the litigation to give certainty as soon as possible.”
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi made a similar request when she asked that the expected review by the 11th Circuit be before all 10 active 11th Circuit judges rather than the typical three-judge panel. Supporting her request, Bondi pleaded that “This case is so significant to all Americans that it needs to be resolved as quickly as possible . . . . If granted, the petition would allow a faster track to the Supreme Court.”
If the new scheduled is followed without changes, then review by the 11th Circuit is expected in June 2011.
