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29 Yale L. & Pol'y Rev. Inter Alia 41 (2011)

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              YALE LAW & POLICY REVIEW




                     Unilateralism, Defunding,
               and   the Shrapnel of Health Reform


                               Michael Lee*


INTRODUCTION

    In the shadow of a Presidential veto, it will be impossible to repeal health
care reform completely-despite the overwhelming  number  of additional seats
Republicans won  in the 2010 election. Congress could, however, strip imple-
mentation  funding  from  the Patient Protection and  Affordable Care  Act
(PPACA)1  and its companion  bill, the Health Care and Education Reconcilia-
tion Act  (HCERA), known jointly among detractors as Obamacare,3
and more  properly as the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Defunding  the health
care bill has been advocated by Republican leaders such as Rep. John Boehner
(R-OH)  and Sen. John McCain  (R-AZ),4 who  view the ACA as simultaneously
unpopular'  and  counterproductive.6 The economics  of the  bill do appear


     M.D. Candidate, Washington University School of Medicine; J.D. Candidate, Yale
     Law School. This Essay is an elaboration of a speech delivered to the Yale Political
     Union.
1.   Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub. L. No. 111-148, 124 Stat. 119
     (2010) [hereinafter PPACA].
2.   Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, Pub. L. 111-152, 124 Stat.
     1029 [hereinafter HCERA].
3.   See, e.g., The Truth About Obamacare: What the Liberal Media Aren't Telling
     You   About   Obama's  Healthcare Plans,  MEDIA   RESEARCH CENTER,
     http://www.obamacaretruth.org/ (last visited May 22, 2010).
4.   Simmi  Aujla, Price: We'll Defund Health Reform, POLITICO (Sept. 11, 2010, 3:13
     PM), http://www.politico.com/news/stories/o910/42o15.html.
5.   The bill had only lukewarm support prior to passage, despite the fact that cer-
     tain propositions were actually supported by most Americans. Frank Newport,
     Jeffrey M. Jones & Lydia Saad, Americans on Healthcare Reform: Five Key
     Realities, GALLUP (Oct. 30, 2009), http://www.gallup.com/poll/23989/americans-
     healthcare-reform-five-key-realities.aspx. Recent polling has been more favorable.
     See Robert Pear, Among Some, High Marks for Health Care Overhaul's Beginnings,


41

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