Court Mulls Severability Concerns On Third Day Of Healthcare Reform Hearings.The Supreme Court’s third day of hearings on the Affordable Care Act generated a great deal of coverage, but as has been the case all week, the topic had to compete with other high-profile stories for air time. None of the three networks led their newscasts with the healthcare story last night, though they did devote more than 13 minutes to their coverage of the hearings and the issue of healthcare reform in general. More than 2,000 local television stories were broadcast on the hearings, and nearly every report noted that Wednesday’s arguments focused on whether the entire law can stand if the individual mandate is ruled unconstitutional. Much of the reporting yesterday and this morning depicts the court as ideologically driven, and either implies or asserts that political considerations impel the court’s five Republican-appointed justices to oppose the President. The AP Legal Correspondent Savannah Guthrie, on NBC Nightly News (3/28, story 3, 1:10, Williams) reported, “Even some of the legal arguments that some have looked at as unserious, or legal long-shots, the justices were taking very seriously. So we’re set up for a decision in June in the middle of a presidential election year, and don’t think the justices are not aware of [the timing].” Despite the widespread belief that the individual mandate, or even the whole ACA, will be overturned, there was a great deal of coverage that was positive in tone regarding the Administration’s healthcare policy. For instance, ABC World News (3/28, story 4, 2:20, Moran) reported that the ACA has “a lot more” than the individual mandate, including “help people pay for prescription drugs, cover…pre-existing conditions,” and “allow young Americans to stay on their parents’ plan until they are 26.” ABC added, “Today, conservatives argued that if the requirement that everyone has insurance is struck down, all that must go too.” The CBS Evening News (3/28, story 6, 2:50, Pelley) reported the ACA “was passed two years ago to help the nearly 50 million uninsured Americans.” CBS added, “When the uninsured end up…in the ER their costs are passed on to paying customers,” and “that means insurance companies end up paying more so they raise rates and fewer people can afford health insurance.” Brian Williams, on NBC Nightly News (3/28, story 2, 3:50), said, “President Obama’s healthcare law…might be on life support. Today’s focus was this, how much of it can be salvaged if the court throws out the controversial requirement that all Americans be forced to buy health insurance?” Justice Correspondent Pete Williams added that if the mandate is found unconstitutional then “the justices seem to agree that more parts of the law should go with it, and many of them suggest tossing out most of it.” Justice Scalia: “My approach would say, if you take the heart out of the statute, the statute is gone.” According to Williams, “The best hope for the Obama Administration would be…that the justices would find it so hard to decide what to throw out and what to keep that they simply let the entire law stand, but…that seems a dim prospect.” White House Has “No Contingency Plan,” Points To Romney’s Mandate. According to Fox News’ Special Report (3/28, lead story, Bream), “The White House is showing signs it’s preparing a positive spin regardless of the outcome.” Ed Henry reported, “While President Obama boasts about not paying attention to ‘cable chatter,’ his staff could not ignore the storm of criticism directed at his solicitor general, Donald Verrilli, for what many called a weak performance that may have helped put the President’s signature domestic achievement on the brink.” White House deputy press secretary Josh Earnest: “What Mr. Verrilli delivered was a very solid performance before the Supreme Court. That’s a fact.” Henry added, “White House aides insist the President is so certain of victory, he does not have a ‘plan B.'” The Hill Potential Political Repercussions Assessed. The CBS Evening News (3/28, story 2, 3:20, Pelley) reported, “If the Court throws it out, it will be the first time since the New Deal that the court has struck down a major domestic program proposed by the President and passed by the Congress.” The Washington Post The Los Angeles Times Justices Exhibit Ideological Split On States’ Medicaid Expansion Challenge. The Boston Globe Mandate’s Role In Keeping Premiums Down Detailed. According to Terry Moran, on ABC World News (3/28, story 4, 2:20, Sawyer), “Under the Obama healthcare law, we will all pay for each other,” but the “liberal justices” noted that currently “the uninsured still get care from the emergency room and the rest of us pay.” Justice Ginsburg: “The people who don’t participate in this market are making it much more expensive for the people who do.” |