The Affordable Care Act Decision ─ Philosophical and Legal Implications

Interest in NFIB v. Sebelius has been extraordinarily high, from as soon as the legislation was passed, through lower court rulings, the Supreme Court’s grant of certiorari, and the decision itself, both for its substantive holdings and the purported behind-the-scene dynamics. Legal blogs exploded with analysis, bioethicists opined on our collective responsibilities, and philosophers tackled concepts like ‘coercion’ and the activity/inactivity distinction. This volume aims to bring together scholars from disparate fields to analyze various features of the decision. It comprises over twenty essays from a range of academic disciplines, namely law, philosophy, and political science. Essays are divided into five units: context and history, analyzing the opinions, individual liberty, Medicaid, and future implications.

Fritz Allhoff is an Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Western Michigan University, USA and a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, Australia. Dr. Allhoff serves on the International Committee of Military Medicine in Switzerland. He is the author or editor of nearly thirty books and his papers have been published in top medical ethics journals, including American Journal of Bioethics, Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, and Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal. Dr. Allhoff is currently finishing a J.D. at the University of Michigan Law School.

Mark A. Hall is the Fred and Elizabeth Turnage Professor of Law and Public Health at Wake Forest University, USA, where he co-directs its Master of Arts in Bioethics program and has appointments in the Schools of Law, Medicine, and Business. He is the lead editor of the original textbook in the field, Health Care Law and Ethics (8th ed., 2013) and he has written books on various aspects of health care law and public policy. Professor Hall is currently studying health insurance reform, safety net access for the uninsured, and the legal and ethical implications of consumer-driven health care.