
President Barack Obama isn’t planning anything special to mark the anniversary of his signature health care reform bill, the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act, which he signed into law 2 years ago this month.
There will be no public remarks or special press conferences to defend the measure this week as the case inches closer to opening arguments in the Supreme Court, administration officials said.
The bill, which also enacted the 2.3% medical device tax slated to go into effect on January 1, 2013, was signed into law 2 years ago this Friday.
The administration is not interested in "discussing anniversaries, particularly, although I’m sure others will want to discuss this," White House press secretary Jay Carney told Healthwatch.
The U.S. Supreme Court in November 2011 agreed to hear a case challenging the health care reforms, the ruling for which may be the final blow in an ongoing battle over whether or not Congress has the constitutional power to force citizens to maintain health insurance or face a penalty.
Although President Obama isn’t expected to make any public gestures, other lawmakers and interest groups are planning protests and events outside the Supreme Court, Healthwatch reported.
A growing crowd of reporters, lawyers and other stakeholders are vying for a seat inside the court to hear the arguments, which begin next week.
"This is just unprecedented," Drexel University law professor Lisa McElroy told the news service. "This is going to be on a scale we’ve never seen before."
Seating inside the courtroom is limited and even some of the lawyers who worked on briefs relating to the case didn’t make the list. The Supreme Court, which has historically refused televising cases, has agreed to release audio of the arguments each day.
While the health care bill is getting its day in court, the controversial independent payment advisory board created by the bill will get the House treatment.
A 2nd U.S. House of Representatives panel voted to repeal Medicare’s IPAB earlier this month, saying it grants too much authority to un-elected experts and could lead to rationing.
The bill got a lot of heat from trial lawyers who came out against the repeal measure when House leaders proposed tieing it to legislation that would cap medical malpractice damages, but the motion is set to hit the House floor for a vote as early as Wednesday or Thursday next week.
A vote for repeal could help the GOP rebuild some bridges with the American Medical Assn., a relationship that needs some repair since the groups butted heads over health care reform.