Supreme Court Oral Arguments on the Constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act Set to Begin on March 26th

The much anticipated Supreme Court oral arguments on the Affordable Care Act are set to begin on Monday, March 26th.  The first day of arguments is set to cover whether the court can even decide on the Constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act this year, or if it must wait until the law actually takes effect in 2014.  The oral arguments on March 26th will cover the individual mandate, whether Congress can require individuals to purchase insurance and whether they can impose a penalty on those that do not purchase health insurance.  The last day of oral arguments is on March 27th and will cover the issue of if the Court does strike down the individual mandate, does it strike down the entire Affordable Care Act.  On the last day, they will also address whether expansion of the Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act will encroach on the rights of the States.

It will be very interesting to see the arguments unfold.  Although the arguments will be completed this week, a decision from the Court won't be made until sometime this summer.