Last month, when amicus briefs supporting the Affordable Care Act were due in the Fourth Circuit, the law garnered a massive 18 briefs rejecting Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s (R) meritless challenge to the law. Moreover, these briefs were dominated by organizations such as the American Hospital Association, the American Cancer Society, the American Nurses Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics with tremendous expertise in health care and health policy.
Last night, amicus briefs opposing the Affordable Care Act were due, and the results are far less impressive. The fifteen briefs opposing the law were filed mostly by conservative think tanks, GOP elected officials and Republican-aligned lobbying groups. Only two health care organizations, a single hospital association and a right-wing doctors’ advocacy group which likens the Affordable Care Act to “Hitler,” sided against the ACA.
Perhaps the most striking thing about the many amicus briefs is that the ACA’s opponents appear to be having trouble finding people who are actually willing to sign their name to a brief. Three times as many legal scholars joined the pro-ACA side. More than three dozen economists, including three Nobel Prize winners, support the ACA — and their voices go unanswered by the law’s opponents. Even advocacy groups on the right are massively outweighed by groups supporting the ACA:
| Support ACA in Virgina v. Sebelius | Oppose ACA in Virgina v. Sebelius |
| HEALTH ORGANIZATIONS
- AMERICAN HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION - 4 HEALTH GROUPS: American Cancer Society Cancer Action Newtork, Inc., American Diabetes Association, Inc., American Heart Association, Inc. and The American Cancer Society, Inc - 6 DOCTORS AND NURSES GROUPS: Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Student Association, American Nurses Association, Doctors for America, National Hispanic Medical Association, National Physicians Alliance - 14 HEALTH GROUPS: American Association of People with Disabilities, The Arc of the United States, Breast Cancer Action, Families USA, Friends of Cancer Research, March of Dimes Foundation, Mental Health America, National Breast Cancer Coalition, National Organization For Rare Disorders, National Partnership for Women and Families, National Senior Citizens Law Center, National Women’s Health Network, National Women’s Law Center, and The Ovarian Cancer National Alliance ECONOMIC SCHOLARS - 38 ECONOMISTS (3 NOBEL WINNERS): Dr. David Cutler, Dr. Henry Aaron, Dr. George Akerlof, Dr. Dr. Stuart Altman, Dr. Kenneth Arrow, Dr. Susan Athey, Dr. Tal Gross, Dr. Jonathan Gruber, Dr. Jack Hadley, Dr. Vivian Ho, Dr. John F. Holahan, Ph.D, Dr. Jill Horwitz, Dr. Lawrence Katz, Dr. Harold Pollack, Dr. Matthew Rabin, Dr. James B. Rebitzer, Dr. Michael Reich, Dr. Thomas Rice, Dr. Meredith Rosenthal, Dr. Linda J. Blumberg, Dr. Leonard E. Burman, Dr. Amitabh Chandra, Dr. Michael Chernew, Dr. Philip Cook, Dr. Claudia Goldin, Dr. Frank Levy, Dr. Peter Lindert, Dr. Eric Maskin, Dr. Alan C. Monheit, Dr. Marilyn Moon, Dr. Richard J. Murnane, Dr. Len M. Nichols, Dr. Christopher Ruhm, Dr. Jonathan Skinner, Dr. Katherine Swartz, Dr. Kenneth Warner, Dr. Paul N. Van de Water, Dr. Stephen Zuckerman OTHER ACA SUPPORTERS -States of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai’i, Iowa, Maryland, New York, Oregon and Vermont -State of Massachusetts -Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire -Three constitutional law professors -Twelve professors of federal jurisdiction -Eighteen constitutional law professors -Constitutional Accountability Center -Thirty-one women’s organizations -AARP |
HEALTH ORGANIZATIONS
-Association of American Physicians and Surgeons -Physician Hospitals of America OTHER ACA OPPONENTS -The American Center for Law and Justice, 49 Members of the House of Representatives, and the Constitutional Committee to Challenge the President and Congress on Health Care -Washington Legal Foundation and 14 Legal Scholars -Pacific Legal Foundation, Matthew Sissel, and Americans for Free Choice in Medicine -Cato Institute, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and Professor Randy E. Barnett -Mountain States Legal Foundation -Delegate Bob Marshall (R-VA) and 11 conservative advocacy groups -Three Former GOP Attorneys General |
