Law Commons^™

Dynamic Expansion, Nicole Huberfeld

Faculty Scholarship

Nearly one in four Americans will have medical care and costs covered by the Medicaid program when it has been expanded pursuant to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the ACA). National media outlets have been reporting that only about half of the states are participating in the Medicaid expansion; if the reports were true, millions of Americans would be left without insurance coverage, and many of the nation’s medically fragile citizens would not have access to consistent healthcare. Contrary to these reports, most states will participate in the Medicaid expansion in the near future. This claim is not …

Where There Is A Right, There Must Be A Remedy (Even In Medicaid), Nicole Huberfeld

Faculty Scholarship

The anticipated growth of Medicaid under the ACA will likely aggravate an ongoing dispute surrounding private enforcement of the Medicaid Act. The Medicaid Act does not provide a private right of action except when a person who is eligible for Medicaid is denied entry into the program. Nevertheless, historically, both Medicaid providers and beneficiaries have been able to protect their rights through 42 U.S.C. § 1983, which allows individuals to seek redress against states in federal court for violations of statutory or constitutional rights, or through the Supremacy Clause, which prevents states from enacting laws that violate superseding federal laws. …

Plunging Into Endless Difficulties: Medicaid And Coercion In National Federation Of Independent Business V. Sebelius, Kevin Outterson, Nicole Huberfeld, Elizabeth Weeks Leonard

Faculty Scholarship

Of the four discrete questions before the Court in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, the Medicaid expansion held the greatest potential for destabilization from both a statutory and a constitutional perspective. As authors of an amicus brief supporting the Medicaid expansion, and scholars with expertise in health law who have been cited by the Court, we show in this article why NFIB is likely to fulfill that promise.

For the first time in its history, the Court held federal legislation based upon the spending power to be unconstitutionally coercive. Chief Justice Roberts’ plurality (joined for future voting purposes …