Paul Clement Discusses Obamacare, Preemption, EPA
In this interview conducted at the 12th Annual Legal Reform Summit last October, former U.S. Solicitor General Paul D. Clement previewed the upcoming Supreme Court case on health care reform. Clement is the lawyer leading the challenge to the law.
He called the challenge to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which starts today, the “800 pound gorilla in the room” for the upcoming Supreme Court term. For business, the most important aspect of the case is the individual mandate, which requires everybody to purchase insurance or pay a fine.
A recent Wall Street Journal editorial says that “the Administration says the individual mandate is necessary so that the Affordable Care Act’s other regulations ‘work.’” If the court strikes down the individual mandate, it will then have to decide what other aspects of Obamacare, if any, will survive the challenge.
Clement also discussed cases that will answer questions regarding federal preemption and environmental regulation. His take on the health care challenge starts at the :55 second mark in the video above.
At the October Summit, Clement also took part in a panel discussion with Lisa Blatt from Arnold & Porter and Lily Fu Claffee from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce reviewing key business decisions of Supreme Court’s 2010 term and previewing important business cases pending on the 2011 docket, including Obamacare. Video of the full panel discussion is available here.
