Grandfathering guidance in health care reform law

Assembly, governor mulling how to implement Obamacare

By Peter Vieth
Published: November 19, 2012
Tags: General Assembly, Gov. Bob McDonnell, Health Care Bill

Obamacare is here to stay, following the results of this month’s presidential election. And the 2013 General Assembly is expected to face decisions on Virginia’s role in a national health care plan. State officials are staking out positions on the details of the inevitable national plan. One Virginia health care lawyer urges doctors and other [...]

Governor to lawmakers: Get answers before action

By The Associated Press
Published: July 16, 2012
Tags: Gov. Bob McDonnell, Health Care Bill

(AP) Gov. Bob McDonnell told state legislators Tuesday that Virginia policymakers need more answers from President Barack Obama’s administration about Medicaid before they respond to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding the federal health care reform law. In a letter to Virginia senators and delegates, McDonnell said there is no need for a special legislative [...]

Federal appeals court hears first healthcare law cases

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 10, 2011
Tags: Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, Federal Courts, Health Care Bill, Judge Andre M. Davis, Judge Diana Gribbon Motz, Judge Henry E. Hudson, Judge James A. Wynn Jr., Judge Norman K. Moon

The legal battle over the federal health care act has made it to the next level. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments May 10 in the first two cases to advance from the trial court level to a federal appeals court, en route to a likely showdown in the U.S. Supreme Court. [...]

Hudson is first to strike down health care law

By Alan Cooper
Published: December 14, 2010
Tags: Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, Constitutional, Federal Courts, Health Care Bill, Judge Henry E. Hudson

U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson struck down a key part of the nation’s new health care law last week, becoming the first judge to rule that Congress exceeded its powers by requiring individuals to have health insurance or pay a penalty to the federal government. Hudson’s decision in Commonwealth v. Sebelius (VLW 010-3-647) followed [...]

Moon dismisses challenge to new health care law

By Peter Vieth
Published: December 1, 2010
Tags: Federal Courts, Health Care Bill, Judge Norman K. Moon, Law Schools

U.S. District Judge Norman K. Moon of Lynchburg dismissed a challenge to President Obama’s health care plan last week. In a 54-page opinion, Moon rejected the argument by Liberty University lawyers that the Constitution’s Commerce Clause bars any law requiring most Americans to obtain medical coverage. “I hold that there is a rational basis for [...]

It’s a race to the high court for challenges to healthcare reform law

By Alan Cooper
Published: November 1, 2010
Tags: Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, Federal Courts, Health Care Bill

If each of the 20 or more federal court challenges to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is in a race to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is more likely to get there first? The smart money is probably on a case from Michigan that’s already on its way to the 6th U.S. Circuit [...]

Richmond federal court hears ‘Obamacare’ case

By Alan Cooper
Published: October 25, 2010
Tags: Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, Federal Courts, Health Care Bill, Judge Henry E. Hudson

The pivot point for Virginia’s challenge to the federal health care reform package at the Oct. 18 hearing in Richmond federal court was the federal legislation’s “individual mandate,” which requires a person to buy insurance or pay a penalty. The two sides offered different characterizations of the so-called individual mandate in their contest over the [...]

Healthcare challenge advances in federal court

By The Associated Press
Published: August 9, 2010
Tags: Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, Constitutional, Federal Courts, Health Care Bill, Judge Henry E. Hudson

(AP) An Oct. 18 hearing before U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson will be the next major proceeding in Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s challenge to a key element of the Obama administration’s health care reform package. A spokesman for Cuccinelli said the office expects to file a motion for summary judgment that would give [...]

Is the health care debate impacting jurors?

By Correy E. Stephenson
Published: July 23, 2010
Tags: Health Care Bill, Practice Tips

The national debate over health care covered a broad spectrum of topics and invited opinions from every citizen. And like any political issue, the debate will affect potential jurors, said Richard Gabriel, president of Decision Analysis, a jury consulting company in Los Angeles. “Any debate in the public forum inevitably impacts jurors,” he noted. For [...]