W&L Law Prof Tim Jost on Liberty University's Affordable Care Act Challenge
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit to hear a challenge to the Affordable Care Act from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.
Liberty has been pursuing a challenge to both the individual insurance mandate as well as the employer mandate, which requires all employers with more than fifty employees to provide them with adequate insurance coverage. The Fourth Circuit had not ruled on the challenges because it ruled that Liberty was barred by the federal Anti-Injunction Act from suing to stop the mandates.
Washington and Lee University law professor Tim Jost, a health law expert and supporter of the Affordable Care Act, told the Los Angeles Times:
“It’s a frivolous argument. Congress had regulated wages and benefits issues under the commerce clause for decades.”
