In a 3-0 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has ruled against a conservative group that filed a lawsuit alleging Congress violated the origination clause of the Constitution by imposing new taxes when it created the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, according to a Washington Post report.
The lawsuit was filed by Sacramento, Calif.-based Pacific Legal Foundation and Matt Sissel, a small-business owner. The lawsuit alleged Congress violated the origination clause by allowing the PPACA to begin in the Senate and not the House, as the PPACA is a bill for raising revenue and the Constitution requires all legislation raising revenue to start in the House.
The appeals court disagreed with the plaintiffs, and held the PPACA is not aimed at raising revenue. Rather, the court said the main focus of the PPACA is to increase the number of insured Americans and lower the cost of healthcare across the nation.
The appeals court said the PPACA may generate up to $4 billion in annual income for the government by 2017. However, those revenues are merely a byproduct of the PPACA's main focus, according to the report.
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