U.S. Supreme Court Set to Hear Arguments on ACA Cases Next Week
The National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) and Lambda Legal will host a tele-briefing for members of the media on the implications of the Supreme Court challenge to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) on the fight against HIV/AIDS in America. The United States Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments next week.
WHAT: Press Tele-briefing- DIAL-IN: (888) 390-3983
- WHEN: Wednesday, March 21, 2011 at 2:00pm ET / 11:00am PT
- WHO: Kali Lindsey, Director of Legislative & Public Affairs
- National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC)
Scott Schoettes, HIV Project Director, Lambda Legal
Each group filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to find the law constitutional. The ACA includes several provisions that will both improve access to care for people living with HIV/AIDS, and expand prevention services for millions that could significantly slow the epidemic. Lambda Legal's brief supports the federal government's position that the ACA's minimum coverage requirement (also known as the individual mandate) is constitutional under the Commerce Clause and the Necessary and Proper Clause and expands access to health insurance for millions of Americans. The Medicaid expansion, which NMAC urged the Court to uphold in a separate brief, will extend health care access to 16 million Americans, including tens of thousands of people living with HIV/AIDS.
As the ACA does more to improve America's response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic than any piece of legislation since the Ryan White CARE Act, the Court's decision will have implications far beyond the federal government's authority to regulate the insurance market. It could very well determine the fate of our nation's struggle against HIV.
NMAC's amicus brief is available online here: http://nmac.org/images/NMAC_ACA_AmicusBrief.pdf
Lambda Legal's amicus brief is available online here: http://www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/legal-docs/dept-of-hhs_us_20120113_brief-for-amici-curiae
