Civil Rights Groups Appeal to Supreme Court, Saying Health Reform Act Is Constitutional

For quite some time, we’ve been hearing about court appeals to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and whether it is unconstitutional. In fact, it’s even gone to the Supreme Court for adjudication.

The issue should be decided sometime this spring.

But some civil rights groups are now getting into the mix and saying that the health reform act is clearly something that the constitution promises every American because it “advances equal opportunity and liberty for millions of disadvantaged Americans” according to a press release from the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and the American Civil Liberties Union.

Last week the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and the American Civil Liberties Union filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court arguing that “Congress acted within its constitutional authority under the Commerce and Necessary and Proper clauses” and that Congress acted well within its constitutional authority, in passing the act.

The act addresses “inequalities in our health care system that disproportionately affect disadvantaged populations,” said Steven R. Shapiro, legal director of the ACLU, in the press release.

More than 50 million Americans live day-to-day hoping they will remain healthy because they have no health insurance. Shockingly, members of the Tea Party who attended a recent GOP debate said they believe the uninsured should die if they can’t pay for medical care, according to a story at abcnews.com.

Healthcare, and the need for a strong central government to provide it, is one of the key issues pitting the GOP against the health reform act, Michael Muskal of the Los Angeles Times writes.

Recently a hospital and a medical group in Atlanta refused to treat dialysis patients after a contract expired between the two groups. Most of the patients were illegal immigrants, and the expiration of the contract meant they had to wait “until their health deteriorated enough to justify receiving dialysis in the emergency room,” which was covered, according to a story at nephrologynews.com. In some cases, this could mean death.

Many point to the fact that leaving people uninsured may cause them to wait until they are very sick before they seek help, raising the costs of health care for everyone. “I have seen people who are suffering from late-stage cancer, complicated co-morbidities from smoking, and uncontrolled diabetes. With older patients, delays in treatment can be especially serious,” Gady Har-El, MD, Chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York told Marlene Piturro, Ph.D., MBA, of ENTtoday. On the other hand, Piturro writes, “insuring more people without adding a more coherent delivery system will only drive up cost.”

This is what the reform act is set up to do, say proponents.

“We wanted to show how hollow arguments against expanding health care coverage are,” said Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, in the press release. “Health care reform expands liberty for the millions of disadvantaged Americans who are subject to the human costs of being on the wrong side of health insurance disparities.”

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO East 2012, taking place Jan. 31-Feb. 3 2012, in Miami, FL. ITEXPO offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO registration click here.

Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO. Follow us on Twitter.