HSPH health policy experts weigh in on Supreme Court hearings on Affordable Care Act

As the Supreme Court hears challenges to the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) from March 26-28, 2012, Harvard School of Public Health professors have been widely quoted in media coverage of the hearings.

John McDonough, professor of the practice of public health and director of the Center for Public Health Leadership, spoke to The Washington Post, Financial Times, Daily Herald, The Boston Globe, and WBUR’s CommonHealth blog about the ACA’s requirement that nearly all Americans purchase health insurance (the individual mandate), as well as about the history of health care reform in Massachusetts and how the state might fare if the federal law is overturned.

Robert Blendon, Richard L. Menschel Professor of Public Health and Senior Associate Dean for Policy Translation and Leadership Development, was quoted in The New York Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, and the National Journal on the political implications of the current debate over health care reform.

Michelle Mello, professor of law and public health, spoke to Bloomberg about the financial gamble taken by those who opt out of buying insurance.

Meredith Rosenthal, who contributed to one of the highest profile amicus briefs reviewed by the court for this case, spoke to WBUR about her concerns about the other ACA provisions that may be halted if the individual mandate is overturned.