Kaiser Health News: Health industries weigh in on Supreme Court case
This story was written by Jay Hancock, a staff writer for Kaiser Health News, a publication of the Kaiser Family Foundation and was originally published on March 22nd, 2012. For a break down of the issues being debated before the Supreme Court on the Affordable Care Act, see our blog post here.
Before the raucous legislative battle to pass the health law in 2010, there was a quieter but significant process that brought health industry players to the negotiating table. Insurers, hospitals and drug makers all cut deals to help shape what would become the Affordable Care Act.

America's Health Insurance Plans President and CEO Karen Ignagni (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Now, as the Supreme Court awaits arguments in one of the most closely watched cases in years, the deals are threatened along with the law. And the industry groups are deploying different strategies as they seek to defend their interests before the High Court.
Insurers have chosen not to defend the massive dividend for their industry that many believe makes the law most vulnerable. The “individual mandate” requires almost everybody to buy health insurance or pay a fine – a major concession the lobby got at the bargaining table. But insurers are not taking a stand on whether the mandate is an unconstitutional abuse of federal power, as the law’s opponents contend.
“I don’t think the public or the courts recognize our industry for its constitutional expertise,” said Karen Ignagni, chief executive of America’s Health Insurance Plans, an industry lobby.
Insurers do express strong views on what the court should do if the mandate is tossed out. Their memo to the justices joins more than 130 other briefs, the largest number of “friend of the court” briefs ever filed for a Supreme Court case. Read the rest of this entry »

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