Assignment

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is a significant piece of legislation, both in its goal to reform the U.S. health care system and in its sheer size. The law is nearly one thousand pages in length, but those pages boast numerous provisions intended to make health care more accessible to all citizens. Two of the PPACA provisions were challenged as soon as the law was passed:

Individual mandate: Individuals must possess a minimum level of health insurance or face financial penalties.

Increased access to Medicaid: Individuals earning less than 133% of the poverty-level baseline are eligible for Medicaid.

Florida and 11 other states challenged these provisions as unconstitutional in the case National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius. In this assignment, you evaluate the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the constitutionality of the PPACA in this specific court case. Be sure to review the Learning Resources for more information about the decision.

The assignment (2-3 pages)

In your evaluation of the ruling, be sure to include the following elements:

An explanation of the Supreme Court's position regarding the duties and responsibilities of health agencies to protect the public's health and safety.

A critique of the court's position from a public health, legal, and ethical perspective.

Support your work with specific citations from this week's Learning Resources and additional scholarly sources as appropriate. APA Style for to ensure that your in-text citations and reference list are correct.

Learning Resources:

Musumeci, M. (2012). A guide to the Supreme Court's Affordable Care Act decision. Retrieved fromhttp://kaiserfamilyfoundation.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/8332.pdf

Supreme Court of the United States. (n.d.). Retrieved February 12, 2014, fromhttp://www.supremecourt.gov/