meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
We the People

The Affordable Care Act Back at the Supreme Court

We the People

National Constitution Center

News, News Commentary, History

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 13 November 2020

⏱️ 58 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in California v. Texas—a recent lawsuit bringing another challenge to the Affordable Care Act. In 2012, in NFIB v. Sebelius, the Supreme Court upheld the ACA as constitutional exercise of Congress’s taxing power; but Congress in 2017 eliminated the individual mandate which served as a basis for the tax rationale—and a group of states and individual plaintiffs sued to challenge the law’s validity once again. This episode recaps the arguments and how the justices—including Justice Amy Coney Barrett, whose faced many questions about the ACA during her confirmation hearings— reacted to the arguments on both sides. Host Jeffrey Rosen was joined by two experts on the Affordable Care Act and the Constitution: Abbe Gluck of Yale Law School, author of The Trillion Dollar Revolution: How the Affordable Care Act Transformed Politics, Law, and Health Care in America, and Ilya Shapiro of the Cato Institute, author of Religious Liberties for Corporations? Hobby Lobby, the Affordable Care Act, and the Constitution. Some terms that will be helpful to know for this week: Standing: the ability of a person or party to bring a lawsuit in court. For instance, if the person who brings the lawsuit has suffered some “injury” or will be likely to suffer an injury if a particular wrong is not remedied, they may have standing to bring the case. Severability: a legal principle that allows an unconstitutional or unenforceable provision or part of law to be “severed” out from the rest of the law, leaving the remaining parts of the law intact and in force. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

I'm Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center and welcome

0:07.8

to We The People, a weekly show of constitutional debate.

0:11.4

The National Constitution Center is a nonpartisan nonprofit chartered by Congress to increase awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American people.

0:21.0

This week the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in California

0:24.7

versus Texas, the Affordable Care Act case. On today's episode we'll recap the

0:30.2

oral argument and explore whether or not the ACA will survive its

0:36.4

latest legal challenge. I'm joined by two of America's leading experts on the

0:40.6

Affordable Care Act and the Constitution.

0:43.3

Abby Gluck is a professor of law and faculty director

0:46.4

of the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy

0:48.8

at Yale Law School, as well as professor

0:51.0

of internal medicine at Yale Medical School.

0:52.8

She's the author of many works, including the trillion dollar revolution,

0:56.7

how the Affordable Care Act transformed politics, law, and health care in America.

1:02.1

She filed an amicus brief on behalf of the petitioner,

1:04.8

California in the case. Abby, it is wonderful to have you back on the show.

1:09.6

Thanks for having me, Jeff. Great to see you again.. And Ilia Shapiro is director of the Robert A

1:14.8

Levy Center for Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute and publisher of the

1:19.1

Cato Supreme Court Review. He's the author of many publications including most recently his new

1:24.9

book Supreme Disorder judicial nominations and the politics of America's

1:30.3

highest court. He filed an amicus brief on behalf of individual

1:34.3

petitioners in this case. Eilia, it is always wonderful to have you on the show.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from National Constitution Center, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of National Constitution Center and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.