Digital Commons Network^™

Equal Protection: Immigrants' Access To Healthcare And Welfare Benefits, Mel Cousins

Mel Cousins

The adoption of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (hereinafter “PRWORA”) led to considerable litigation over immigrants’ rights to welfare benefits and access to health care. The approaches adopted by different courts (both federal and state) diverged significantly based on the various statutory schemes involved as well as distinct approaches to equal protection. However, no “on point” cases have reached the United States Supreme Court, so the “correct” approach remains unclear. Following the fiscal crisis of 2008, several states moved for increased exclusion of certain immigrants residing in the country legally from state healthcare or welfare …

Equal Protection, Immigrants And Access To Health Care And Welfare Benefits – A 2014 Update, Mel Cousins

Mel Cousins

The introduction of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) led to considerable litigation on the rights of immigrants to welfare benefits and access to health care. There was significant divergence between the approaches adopted by the different courts (both federal and State) based, in part, on the different statutory schemes involved but also on different approaches to equal protection. However, none of the cases reached the Supreme Court so the ‘correct’ approach remained unclarified. In response to the Great Recession and subsequent budget crises, several States have again excluded certain legal immigrants from the scope …

Habitual Residence: Fact Or (Legal) Fiction? Case C- C 255/13, I V. Health Service Executive, Mel Cousins

Mel Cousins

Health Care ‘Freedom’, Medicare ‘Enrollment’ And Other Paralogisms: Hall V Sebelius, Mel Cousins

Mel Cousins

Rather overshadowed by the Supreme Court hearings on the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), another case involving a claim for health care ‘freedom’ has recently been dismissed by the DC circuit court of appeals. The case is entirely without any legal interest (or indeed legal merit) and, from a purely legal point of view, is barely worth reporting. Nonetheless from a broader political science perspective, it may be worth noting. From this perspective the ongoing health care litigation (of which Hall v Sebelius is a rather peripheral part) might tend to re-establish a view of …

Equal Protection, Immigrants And Access To Health Care And Welfare Benefits, Mel Cousins

Mel Cousins

The Constitutionality Of The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act In The Courts Of Appeals, Mel Cousins

Mel Cousins

Having undergone an extensive process of political discussion and debate, the ACA (properly the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) is now under intensive legal challenge with over 20 different cases from both states and organizations and individuals having been initiated. The challengers argue that the Act lacks a constitutional basis and/or infringes on their constitutional rights. These cases involve a fascinating intersection of legal, political and policy issues and, regardless of the outcome, will have important implications for the future direction of US health care policy. There have now been four decisions of the courts of appeal on the …

The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act And Constitutional Challenges, Mel Cousins

Mel Cousins

Having undergone an extensive process of political discussion and debate, the Health Care Reform Act (properly the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) is now under intensive legal challenge with at least 20 different cases from both states and organizations and individuals currently under way. Although this litigation is at an early stage, there has already been considerable academic (and other) interest with a number of websites tracking the development of the litigation and providing links to the considerable commentary which has already been developed (albeit much of it inevitably speculative in nature). There have now been five substantive rulings …

Health Care And Human Rights After Auton And Chaoulli, Mel Cousins

Mel Cousins

The judicial approach to the interpretation of entitlement to health care under the Canadian Charter of Rights and human rights legislation has tended to swing between interventionist and non-interventionist poles. This article examines the post- Chaoulli case law on health care and the Charter of Rights and/or human rights legislation. It suggests that Chaoulli – whatever about its impact in the legislative arena – has had a somewhat limited impact to date on the case law concerning health care and that the Auton case has clearly had a greater impact to date. It argues that the subsequent case law points …

Patient Mobility And National Health Systems, Mel Cousins

Mel Cousins

In the last decade, there have been a number of very important judgments of the Court of Justice in relation to patient mobility under article 49 EC and public health systems. Until recently, however, these had referred only to hybrid and private insurance systems. An important question remained as to whether this line of caselaw applied to national health systems and, if so, in what manner. This has now been addressed by the Court of Justice in the Watts case, which concerned the UK national health system (NHS). This note discusses that case.