The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld the health reform law’s requirement that nearly all Americans buy insurance, the first appeals court to rule on the constitutionality of the law.
The panel of three judges — two nominated by Republican presidents — upheld the mandate 2-1, with one GOP-nominated judge ruling in favor of the mandate and the other dissenting.
The ruling marks the first time a Republican-nominated judge has ruled in favor of upholding the mandate.
"We find that the minimum coverage provision is a valid exercise of legislative power by Congress under the Commerce Clause," Judge Boyce F. Martin, Jr. wrote for the majority.
The court ruled that the mandate regulates economic activity with a substantial effect on interstate commerce, and thus is legal. The court also agreed with the federal government that Congress had reason to think that allowing people to go uninsured would allow for "free riders" to take advantage of the system — and other taxpayers.
"Although there is no firm, constitutional bar that prohibits Congress from placing regulations on what could be described as inactivity, even if there were it would not impact this case due to the unique aspects of health care that make all individual active in this market," Martin wrote.
The 6th Circuit upheld a lower court ruling in a suit brought by the conservative Thomas More Law Center.
The panel was made up of Martin, a Jimmy Carter nominee; Jeffrey S. Sutton, a George W. Bush nominee; and James L. Graham, a Ronald Reagan nominee.
In a partial dissent, Graham questioned what would limit Congress’s power if the mandate is upheld.
"It is difficult to see what the limits on Congress’s Commerce Clause authority would be," Graham wrote.
The 6th Circuit is the first of three appeals panels expected to issue rulings on the law this summer.