Oral Argument Schedule

The U.S. Supreme Court will hold oral argument over three days for a total of six hours. The Court has not allotted this much argument time in a case in 50 years. The argument schedule is as follows:

• Monday, March 26 at 10 a.m.: The Court will hear 90 minutes of argument on whether the federal Anti-Injunction Act prohibits the plaintiffs from bringing a challenge to the individual mandate at this time. Florida, the plaintiff states, and the National Federation of Independent Business contend that the individual mandate issue may be settled now without having to await the assessment of penalties under the Act.
  
  
• Tuesday, March 27 at 10 a.m.: The Court will hear two hours of argument on the constitutionality of the individual mandate—the requirement that individuals obtain health insurance or face a financial penalty. The plaintiffs argue that Congress lacks constitutional authority to force individuals who are not participating in the insurance market to enter the market and purchase a government-prescribed insurance product.
  
  
• Wednesday, March 28 at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.; two arguments will be held:
  • First, in the morning, the Court will hear 90 minutes on the issue of “severability.” This issue asks: if the Court invalidates the individual mandate, what other parts of the Act can still survive. Plaintiffs argue that the entire Act must fail if the mandate fails because it is the lynchpin of the Act and Congress would not have enacted the Act without this provision.
  • Second, in the afternoon, the Court will hear one hour of argument on the Act’s requirement that States massively expand their Medicaid programs. The States argue that the Congress cannot force the States to expand, operate, and substantially fund the expansion of Medicaid, or coerce them to do so by threatening the loss of all federal Medicaid funding.