Update on Lawsuits Challenging the Affordable Care Act - April 27, 2011

The U.S. Supreme Court on April 25 rejected the Virginia Attorney General’s request to expedite review of the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Supreme Court did not offer any legal reasoning for its decision. This outcome was expected, as the Supreme Court rarely agrees to review issues before they have been fully vetted by the lower courts. The Virginia lawsuits challenging the ACA (one in the eastern district, one in the western district) will now proceed to hearings in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which are scheduled for May.

Across the last week, several lawsuits brought by private citizens challenging the ACA have been dismissed on the basis that the private individuals lacked standing. On April 21, a district judge in the District of New Jersey dismissed a lawsuit brought by Nicholas Purpura, a Medicare beneficiary, and another individual (Purpura v. Sebelius, Case No. 10-04814). On April 26, a district judge in the Eastern District of Missouri dismissed a lawsuit brought by Peter Kinder, Lieutenant Governor of Missouri, in his individual capacity, and several other private citizens (Kinder v. Geithner, Case No. 1:10-CV-00101).